Archive for 2010
Who will be held accountable for committing adultery? A single woman or a married man?
Question: Who will be held accountable for committing adultery? A single woman or a married man? Answer: Adultery is when a married person has sex with someone to whom he or she is not married. The act is called adultery, whether the married person is having sex with another married person or with a single…
Read MoreIs honoring another person’s request submission?
Question: Good morning. I was reading your web page on submission. I am trying to find out more about submission and I have a specific scenario and I am wondering if you can help me. My boyfriend and I had an argument this morning about submission. We are in a committed relationship and seeking God’s will…
Read MoreCan a widow remain unmarried but have sex with a married man?
Question: If a widow does not want to get married, can she fall in love with a married person who will take care of her sexual needs? In the past, this was the duty of the deceased siblings. How should they go about enjoying life? Answer: Having a relationship with a man married to someone…
Read MoreHelp me understand more about the flaws in the Church of the Nazarene
Question: I am a music minister, called preacher and leader. I currently serve with the church of the Nazarene. I am shocked by the truth you revealed. I have been looking for this, but I really need help to understand it more. I have been feeling deeply uncomfortable with some things in this denomination, and…
Read MoreMust a person formally place membership with a local church before they participate in the work?
Question: What are your thoughts regarding “placing membership” with a local congregation? I understand the biblical authority for someone working under the oversight of the elders of a congregation. If someone has been attending a congregation regularly for a period of time, can it be assumed they wish to work under the oversight of the…
Read MoreIs there any scientific evidence that Christianity is the true religion?
Question: I am not a Christian! But I have been thinking about that religion. I would like to know more about Christianity. Is there any scientific evidence that Christianity is the true religion? And didn’t the church oppose science some centuries back? Thanks. Answer: “Scientific evidence is the result of objective testing of a theory…
Read MoreWould constant exposure to nudity reduce lust?
Question: A link to your survey was sent to me by a girl in Nepal who has been reading the arguments we’ve made on our anti-porn-addiction web site. This is what I’m wondering: What would the answers to those survey questions have looked like from teens growing up in a “naked people group” culture? I believe their answers would put to shame…
Read MoreCan you tell me your source for your opening statement in “Social Drinking”?
Question: I’m an addictions counselor. Having recently read your article “Social Drinking,” (Dudley Ross Spears), I have a question: How did you come up (substantiation for) with your opening statement: “We live in a world where social drinking is accepted by over two-thirds of our entire population”? Answer: One of the sources I used when…
Read MoreWhat happens to burnt offerings?
Question: During the dedication of the temple, offerings were brought. What happens to burnt offerings? Are they consumed by the fire, does the high priest eat a portion, is any eaten, or is it all consumed by fire? Answer: The Mosaical Law contained a variety of offerings (Leviticus 7:37). Sin offerings were given when a…
Read MoreWhat is the point of Lamech’s statement in Genesis 4, and what is meant that people began calling upon the name of the Lord?
Question: In Genesis 4:23-24, Lamech said to his wives that “If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.” What is the point of this message? It is what Lamech said, instead of being from God. So should we understand the statement in Genesis 4:24 as having no authority at all? In Genesis…
Read MoreI found a woman whom I really like, but she says she isn’t interested in me. What do I do?
Question: Hi. I’m wondering if you can please help me with a struggle I’ve had regarding a desire for a particular woman. There is a young Christian woman who I really like, but she had told me a while ago that she doesn’t have a romantic interest in me. Since then we’ve remained friends, but…
Read MoreHow can I restrain myself from doing foreplay with my girlfriend?
Question: How can I restrain myself from doing foreplay with my girlfriend? Answer: “Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman” (I Corinthians 7:1). The simple answer is to keep your hands off of her body. Rather than thinking about your desire…
Read MoreWhom do I marry, my current girlfriend or my former girlfriend?
Question: I have just been reading most of the answers under the topic of marriage and I have to say first of all thank you for answering questions from a biblical perspective. It’s all we need. My question is as follows: I got an older woman pregnant who is in her thirties. I am five…
Read MoreAre prenuptial agreements biblical?
Question: What is or is not biblical regarding a pre-marital agreement for handling money and possessions in the event of a separation or divorce? Answer: “And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a…
Read MoreWhat is meant by “although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage”?
Question: In Esther 7:4, it reads: “For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage.” What did Esther mean when she said “although the enemy could not…
Read MoreWhat are some proper activities for a divorced woman?
Question: I am a divorced Catholic. After 40 years of what I thought was a good marriage, my husband abandoned me for another woman. I stay within all the guidelines of the Catholic church and feel ‘safe’ with activities within the church. I still act in every way as married since I don’t have an annulment, and I…
Read MoreRed, yellow, or green light?
Question: I love your site. I sent the link to my girlfriend. We are not romantically involved; we just only touch the upper part of our bodies, and we keep our clothes on. I asked the pastor where I go to church and he told me that it is a good question, but if she…
Read MoreI don’t know how to plan my life. Can you help me?
Question: I am 23 years old. I haven’t done sex, yet my friends at college enjoy their lives. I only study and listen to songs. I have no girlfriend. My dad is in his sixties. He married twice, and I am the youngest in my family. My dad has big expectations for me, but I…
Read MoreCan We Know?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/CanWeKnow.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 24:36-44 I. A massive advertising campaign has started claiming that Jesus’ second coming and the Judgment Day will be on May 21, 2011. A. Different billboard proclaim slogans, such as “The wise men knew, we can know” or “Noah knew, we can know.” B. Most of us understand that this…
Read MoreWhen should I tell my girlfriend that I’m not a virgin?
Question: Hello. I have been looking over your site and have been blessed by it very much. I was looking for a question but couldn’t find it, so I thought I would ask myself. I know that going into details about my sinful past with my current girlfriend isn’t necessary, but I do feel I…
Read MoreMusic, Movies, and Maturity
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/MusicMoviesAndMaturity.mp3 by PJ Anderson
Read MoreCan We Trust Our Feelings About Salvation?
by Mike Johnson via simplebiblestudies.com Some people claim to rely solely on their feelings for assurance of personal salvation. They may say, “I know that I am saved because I feel that I am.” They will often ignore very plain passages in the Bible about salvation because of a “feeling” that they have. Some are heard…
Read MoreWhat If …?
by Ken Leach via Biblical Insights, Vol. 9, No. 11, November 2009 I am familiar with a situation wherein a young female college student became pregnant out of wedlock. This young Christian and her parents experienced a range of emotions unlike any others in their lifetime. It has now been more than twenty years since those…
Read MoreGrowth — The Good and the Bad
by Gilbert Alexander The growth of true New Testament Christianity is good, even vital, because it means that souls are being saved from eternal condemnation, and lives of promise and hope are being embraced. What makes one a Christian makes him free from guilt and condemnation for his past sins (Romans 6:17,18), makes him a…
Read MoreHow do I know my repentance is genuine?
Question: I have doubts about repentance. I suffer from depression. At times I feel really sad, at times I feel really angry, but at times I feel nothing — not sad, not happy or angry, just, an empty room. So I hope that what I’m going to tell you is caused by depression. My boyfriend…
Read MoreGrains of Sand
by Sam Stinson “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in…
Read MoreWhat do you think about people saying that Christ is going to come back on May 21, 2011?
Question: What do you think about people saying that Christ is going to come back on May 21, 2011? Answer: I had to laugh because there was an article on the front page of the paper about this very thing. This is just another prediction in a long list of failed predictions of when Jesus…
Read MoreThe Organization of the Church
by Earl Kimbrough via Searching the Scriptures, August 1978, Volume 19, Number 8 The Lord designed the church according to his own will and circumscribed it with certain distinguishing marks that are clearly set forth in the Scriptures. No one of these essential features of the church is more important than any other. “All things”…
Read MoreThe Gospel Paul Preached
by Sean P. Cavender The book of Romans is Paul’s defense of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Throughout the epistle, Paul details man’s sin, man’s need for justification, the conditions for justification, the effects of God’s grace, and the assurances of the child of God. He makes several statements of his dedication to preaching this…
Read MoreGod’s Name
by Netagene Kirkpatrick I call the name of Jesus, or Lord God when I pray. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not by-words to say! It bothers me to hear someone who takes God’s Name in vain. If I ever slip and do that, I know I’ll be ashamed. Some things are often cut,…
Read MoreHow do you prepare for missionary work?
Question: Recently I’ve really been wanting to die to self and my dream desire is to live in a really poor area, hopefully in China — not the U.S. It’s hard to be an evangelizing Christian in the U.S. where it’s so wealthy and most people already know Christ. However, I don’t know how to…
Read MoreShould I wait to teach until after my wife is converted? Is blogging a substitute for going into the world to teach the gospel?
Question: Thanks for all your scriptural answers to questions. They helped me a lot! My questions are: Is it wrong to wait for a while to teach (or preach) to other people while I’m still teaching my wife to become a Christian? I feel like a hypocrite to teach others without my wife becoming a…
Read MoreCan a woman be an Associate Campus Minister?
Question: I’ve been attending the church of Christ. I’m fairly new there. It’s almost 30 miles away and there is no other acceptable church that I know of. My concern is with their campus ministry. My husband only recently noticed a flyer in the church hallway announcing a woman as the new Associate Campus Minister.…
Read MoreGod Shows No Partiality
by Bryan Matthew Dockens Racial discrimination is senseless and ungodly. God’s plan for salvation has always been open to all. Centuries before Christ came to fulfill the divine promise, Isaiah prophesied of the church that “all nations shall flow into it” (Isaiah 2:2). Indeed, the very day it was established, the church included members “from…
Read MoreMan’s Duty To “Prove All Things”
by B. C. Goodpasture Men are prone to go to extremes. This has always been true. Paul seems to have been guarding against this tendency when he wrote, “Despise not prophesyings; prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (I Thessalonians 5:20-21). In his day, there were those who claimed to “prophesy” by the…
Read MoreGod Breathed
by Stan Cox In II Timothy 3, the apostle Paul penned a wonderful sentence that establishes both the precious nature of the words contained in our Bibles and their efficacy in ordering our lives as His servants. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for…
Read MoreGod Bless You! Bless Your Heart!
by Netagene Kirkpatrick eu’phe-mism, n. (Gr.: well + to speak). The substitution of an inoffensive or mild expression for one that may offend or be unpleasant; e.g: “passing away” for “dying”. ~ Webster’s Dictionary, 1961 Some people say “God bless you”, Or sometimes, “Bless your heart!” I know they mean it all in love, God’s care…
Read MoreThe Washing of Regeneration
by Jim Ward via The Lost River Bulletin, Vol. 58, No. 4, September 2008. The denominational world has spent centuries trying to oust baptism from God’s plan of salvation. One of the most common efforts centers on works. Notice this argument in syllogistic form: First Premise: Works do not save: (Titus 3:4-6). Second Premise: Baptism…
Read MoreBorn Again Into The Kingdom
by H.E. Phillips via Searching the Scriptures, February 1992, Volume 33, Number 2 The church is the people who are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (I Peter 2:9). The…
Read MoreA Marriage in Decline
by Steven Harper Throughout the Bible, God uses the analogy of marriage to describe the relationship of God with His people. In the Old Testament, God spoke of how He was “married to” the ones of Judah (Jeremiah 3:14) and “was a husband to” the Israelites (Jeremiah 31:32), and even used the analogous picture of putting away and giving a…
Read More