Why is the qualification for deacons “not given to much wine?”
Question: I scanned through the topics on your website about drinking, but I still have a question about I Timothy 3:8. I’m not trying to argue that drinking is OK or trying to reword the Scripture to allow it. I do like a beer with a meal on occasion, but I don’t support alcoholism and…
Read MoreParents
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/2012Spring4Parents.mp3 by Robert Speer The Home
Read MoreGod’s Home and Ours
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/2012Spring2GodsHomeAndOurs.mp3 by Robert Speer The Home
Read MoreGod’s Creation and the First Home
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/2012Spring1GodsCreationAndTheFirstHome.mp3 by Robert Speer The Home
Read MoreThe Home: Preparation for Marriage, Preparation for Heaven
by Robert Speer April 1-6, 2012 God’s Creation and the First Home God’s Home and Ours Husband and Wife (Recording Failed) Parents Mothers Fathers (Recording Failed) Seeking a Spouse Preparing for God’s Home and Ours
Read MoreMy boyfriend and I keep breaking up because of sexual sins. Should I move on or try to make this work?
Question: I would first like to start that I enjoy reading your comments and tackling difficult questions that many people are afraid to address. My question is regarding my current relationship. My partner and I are both Christians and we have been together for less than a year. It has overall been a great relationship…
Read MoreAre pranks sinful?
Question: Hi, I just wanted to ask whether pranks are a sin. I’m aware of the passage in Proverbs 26:19 where it states we shouldn’t lie and then say we are joking. Does that mean all pranks are sinful? Thank you very much. Answer: “Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, is the…
Read MoreIs Jesus today both man and God at the same time?
Question: Hello, Many people are teaching that Jesus Christ is a man and not God. But I do not believe that doctrine because I know that Jesus Christ is God. But what bothers me is that the Scriptures teach that Jesus Christ is also a man. So, is Jesus Christ today man at the same…
Read MoreDid all pain and suffering result from man eating the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
Question: I realize many things happened when man ate of the tree of knowledge. I think I had said once because of such all pain, suffering, and sickness came into the world. I’m not sure why I had said this other than maybe just something I was convinced was true at the time. Is that…
Read MoreIs it proper to bless God’s high and holy name?
Question: I had used the phrase “We bless your high and holy name.” I realize the word bless means basically to make happy. Is it scriptural to pray that phrase? I figure the elders would have corrected me if it wasn’t, but all men are imperfect. Just wanted to know so if I needed to,…
Read MoreFew answers to moral questions satisfied me until I found your sites
Question: I know this will probably be an extremely odd thing to you but I am writing anyway. I am a conservative Baptist in Nebraska. I have researched a good many things online and have been very disappointed at the decay I see. Very few answers have satisfied me – until I found you. The…
Read MoreWhat are all the types of sexual sins?
Question: What are all the types of sexual sins? Answer: “Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes” (Ecclesiastes 7:29). One of the problems with coming up with lists of possible sins is that men are too inventive in coming up with new ways to…
Read MoreI was beginning to despair of people turning churches into places to make money until I saw your website
Question: I would like to thank you. I was having a people failure at some of the things I have been seeing people and churches do. They say they are Christians, but they seem to think it is OK to still sin in so many areas. The churches are selling items, food, and all sorts…
Read MoreIs it wrong for a woman to relieve her fiance using masturbation until they get married?
Question: Praise the Lord. I read your correspondence regarding oral sex and found it to be very enlightening. Does this reasoning also apply to a woman relieving her fiancé using masturbation on him until they marry? Answer: “Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a…
Read MoreIs it a contradiction that Jesus said he would send the Holy Spirit, but he also said some would see him coming in his kingdom?
Question: Dear Preacher, In Matthew 16:28 Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” My question is did Jesus came on the day of Pentecost when the church was established? Because this contradicts with…
Read MoreMy girlfriend broke up with me. I don’t know why. I thought God wanted us together
Question: Hi, I came across your website and read about what the Bible says about boyfriend and girlfriend relations. I have one question: I loved one of my classmates and she also loved me. We both are believers and born-again Christians. Before coming to this relation I prayed to God, “If you want, then allow…
Read MoreWhat do you advise concerning a woman who left her husband because of his adultery, but did not divorce him, and later lived in adultery herself?
Question: Question: I have a bizarre situation. I met a woman, not a member of the church of Christ, who married an atheist when she was young at the urging of her grandmother to avoid fornication. However, she was not tutored properly about Christ’s teachings on marriage. Some years down the line she became privy…
Read MoreWill God bless our attempts to restore our marriage?
Question: I thank God for directing me to your website. I have been married for nearly a decade and have had two failed pregnancies. During the marriage, my husband started using crack, had huge gambling debts, and, I believe, fornication and spending time out of the family home. I stayed with my husband because I…
Read MoreWe keep falling into sexual sins. Is the solution to break up?
Question: Hello, My boyfriend and I have known each other since we were teenagers. We are in our early twenties now. We have been in love with each other since we were teenagers but didn’t start dating until the last couple of years. So technically we have only been in a relationship for a few…
Read MoreWill we be judged by everything we say here on earth?
Question: What does it mean we will be judged by one day by every word we have spoken here on earth? Does it mean that by just haven spoken something bad that those words will condemn us at judgment then even if we have repented of it? Answer: “A good man out of the good…
Read MoreHow do I repent for getting drunk?
Question: This is with deep regret that I am asking this. This past Saturday my neighbors threw a going-away party for my wife and me. I ended up getting drunk in front of all of my peers and I feel terrible. I have worked so hard to be the best Christian possible. My question is…
Read MoreI want a small wedding, but my boyfriend doesn’t want to spend even that amount of money
Question: Good evening! I so much enjoyed your website that I found tonight. I’ve saved it as a favorite. Thank you for this opportunity to email you. I’m hoping you can help me. My fiance and I have been engaged for about a year and a half. We have dated for over ten years. We…
Read MoreI think you spend too much time going over questions of conscience and opinion and never get to the preaching of the Gospel
Question: I really think you brothers spend too much time going back and forth over questions concerning conscience and opinion and never get to the preaching of the Gospel of Christ. I think that this only keeps those who are sinners from wanting anything to do with the church those things can’t save. What do…
Read MoreYour sermon was a blessing to me and my church
Question: Thank you so much for the sermon “The Lord is My Help and My Deliverer” on your church’s website. I am so blessed spiritually when I read this teaching. When I shared this teaching in our church many people were blessed and touched by this teaching. I really feel the presence of God when…
Read MoreI want a God-fearing husband, but my boyfriend doesn’t seem to be that interested
Question: I have been seeking God more than I have before. My life for God has definitely strengthened. However, I have sought God about the situation of my boyfriend. To be honest it seems as if I have to keep my boyfriend in the Word. He sure wants to marry, loves me, and has no…
Read MoreMy husband blames me for his adulteries and our divorce. How do I move past this?
Question: I’m really torn about my divorce. My husband left me for another woman, divorced me, and married her. I’m still crushed after several years. Our marriage started out poorly. We had pre-marital sex and I even had an abortion. A few months before we got married, I had sex with another man. He found…
Read MoreWas a woman forced to marry her rapist?
Question: So in Deuteronomy 22:28-29, it says “If a man finds a girl, a virgin not engaged, and lays hold on her, and lies with her, and they are found, then the man who lay with her shall give to the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife. Because he…
Read MoreWhere did you get your facts? What you say about Roman Catholic beliefs doesn’t match what I was taught.
Question: Hello, As a fresh convert to Catholicism, I have some questions regarding the information on your site. What I learned directly from my parish priest contradicts several things you state in “What is wrong with Catholicism?”, particularly at the end of your article. I want to say right now that I am not the…
Read MoreCan a woman remarry if she divorced her husband because of his adultery, but didn’t move out immediately?
Question: I know a young woman who was repeatedly cheated on by her spouse. Yet, she forgave him after the first couple of times for the sake of the family. Later in the marriage, she suspected he was still cheating on her and had sex with a young woman with who he said he never…
Read MoreBelief, Baptism, and Signs Following – Still Today?
by Larry Ray Hafley Here is the text of Mark 16:15-20: “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In…
Read MoreMiraculous Gifts as They Are Designated in the Scriptures
by Gilbert Alexander Jesus touched the eyes of a blind man and he saw Mark 8:22-25 Miraculous gifts, or spiritual gifts, as they are designated in the Scriptures were given to the apostles for specific purposes. They were given directly to the apostles when the apostles received the baptism of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost…
Read MoreAre humans omnivores?
Question: Common Sense – Humans are not natural carnivores Many believe humans are omnivores and perfectly adapted to eating meat. To think so is not using our good sense of reason. Humans, as Harvey Diamond explains, are not natural carnivores: “A carnivore’s teeth are long sharp and pointed – all of them! But we have…
Read MoreCan a Christian offer a pledge of allegiance?
Question: Hello. I have some questions concerning whether patriotism is permissible for a Christian. I would like to know your views on matters such as the pledge of allegiance and military service. I am coming from a perspective taught to me by the Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose beliefs I have studied for some time. I do…
Read MoreHow do I answer the claim that the Scriptures have some truth but can’t be infallible because men were involved in its writing?
Question: I was talking about the inspiration of Scripture with a friend. He claimed that the Scriptures had some truth and were inspired by God, but were not infallible because men had to have messed it up in our fallibility. He also said that there was no way God forced men to have written the…
Read MoreWhy do you have so many questions pertaining to sex on your church website?
Question: Why do you have so many questions pertaining to sex on your church website? It is very inappropriate and perhaps you are forgetting the Bible verse that states there are certain things you shall not discuss in public because they are so shameful. Answer: “For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor…
Read MoreYour information is making it easier for us to teach our youth and new converts not to be conformed to this world
Question: Your concepts about bringing the church in the New Testament are really nice to hear because nowadays churches are not giving emphasis enough that we must not be conformed to this world again. Now it will be easier for us to help in teachings our youth and new converts. Again, God bless all your…
Read MoreHow can we do better at studying the Scriptures?
Question: Hi, First of all, I want to thank you for the many articles and sermons on your website. They have been very helpful and it is encouraging to have access to so much information regarding God’s word. I was recently talking to my girlfriend about becoming each other’s accountability partner for reading and studying…
Read MoreI was baptized while my boyfriend and I were separated. I have since moved back in with him, but I’m told this is wrong. What do I do?
Question: Hello, I am a member of the church of Christ. I was baptized while I was pregnant with my child. At the time my boyfriend and I were separated. But as time went on, I moved back in, against the advice of a fellow member. Although I knew it was not what the Bible…
Read MoreTotal Depravity or Total Inability
by Terry W. Benton Calvinism is commonly summarized and remembered by the use of an acrostic formula using the word TULIP. The first letter stands for “Total Depravity” or “Total Spiritual Inability”. Let me let a Calvinist explain what is meant by this term. “Total depravity is a concept that everyone including the elect and…
Read MoreChurch Autonomy
by Robert Turner “Autonomy” is a compound word, composed of autos, meaning “self,” and nomos, meaning “law.” An ordinary dictionary will tell us the word means “self-ruled,” so that an autonomous church is “self-governed, without outside control.” There are those who reject the concept of God and revelation, saying ultimate authority is in man. To…
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