I have a hard time controlling my thoughts. I’m scared I might not be saved.
Question: I have a couple of questions that I would like to send you. I have been a member of the Lord’s church all my life and I am in my later years of life. I suffer from OCD and depression. I have such a hard time controlling my thoughts, and I worry that I…
Read MoreWhy did Saul ask whose son David was after his battle with Goliath?
Question: I’m reading in I Samuel 16:21. It says that David came into Saul’s service to play harp for Saul then became one of Saul’s armor-bearers. Saul even sent word to Jesse saying to ‘allow David to remain in my service,’ so I would assume that Saul knew who David was. However, in I Samuel…
Read MoreDoes a murderer take on the sins of his victim?
Question: I have sometimes heard that killing someone frees that person of their sins and that the killer takes on their sins. Is this true or is there any reference to this in any Bible verse? Answer: This is provably false. Sins are not inheritable nor can they be transferred to another person. “The soul…
Read MoreWhy are the commandments mentioned in Exodus 34 different from those mentioned in Exodus 20?
Question: I have been reading the Old Testament and I am confused as to Exodus 20 and Exodus 34 where there are two sets of the ten commandments God gave Moses. The second set is different from the first set. In Exodus 34 God said to use the same words given to Moses as it…
Read MoreDid God condone rape?
Question: Can you show me with any credible, moral, and compassionate justification how passages such as Numbers 31:18 and II Samuel 12:11-14 are not examples of divine-sanctioned rape? Answer: In Numbers 31, the Lord ordered punishment on the nation of Moab. “Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel. Afterward you shall be…
Read MoreDo I stop praying for my husband to come home?
Question: My husband is not spiritually grounded and never really has been. I am a Christian, and I love him very much. We are separated and I’ve been praying for my marriage to be restored. My question is should I stop praying? I don’t want to seem obnoxious, pushy, or impatient toward the Lord, but I…
Read MoreDoes having a strong sexual desire mean you are more suited for marriage than being single?
Question: Does having a strong and persistent sexual desire an indication that one is more suited for marriage? Is this a sign from the Holy Spirit that it is time for marriage? What does Paul mean by some people are gifted for singlehood? Does this mean they have fewer needs, including sexual and emotional? Can…
Read MoreMy boyfriend and I have been having sex for a while. I realize it is wrong, but I don’t know how to straighten this out
Question: My boyfriend and I are both Christians and have been dating for two years now. About a year ago we started sinning. Although, I realize now that what we were doing prior to that was wrong as well. It always seems like every time I talked with him and told him that I didn’t…
Read MoreHow can Jesus say the new covenant is not his but the Lord’s? Aren’t they the same?
Question: People say God is three in one, but Jesus, the Son, says the new covenant is not his but the Lord’s. Aren’t they the same thing? Answer: Usually, these questions are easier to figure out if you read the actual verse. Jesus said that his words are no different from the Father’s. “He who…
Read MoreDoes God wait for me to sin?
Question: Does God wait for me to sin? Answer: Sin is something everyone ends up doing. “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none…
Read MoreWhat does it mean “there is no one who does not sin”?
Question: Please explain to me what II Chronicles 6:36 means as per the issue of sin: “for there is no one who does not sin…” What is the meaning of holiness? What happens to a Christian who sins but has yet to acknowledge, let alone repent or confess it? Answer: “When they sin against You…
Read MoreShould I leave a church that is not withdrawing from sinful members?
Question: Dear Sir, I belong to a church of Christ that is sound in its teaching. I enjoy worshiping God there and the people are loving and kind. The problem I have is that we have leaders who are too kind to take a real stand to correct people who are in error to the…
Read MoreMy boyfriend did something he wasn’t supposed to and now I’m afraid I might get pregnant. What can I take to avoid it?
Question: Hi I really need urgent help from you. Actually, to tell you the truth, what happened is that my guy wasn’t in his senses, and he ended up doing something wrong which he wasn’t supposed to do. I don’t want to get pregnant or anything. Neither can I go buy any pills from outside.…
Read MoreWhat is meant by “so the last error shall be worse than the first”?
Question: In Matthew 27:64, what does “so the last error shall be worse than the first” mean? Answer: “Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception…
Read MoreEvery Christian is Necessary
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/EveryChristianIsNecessary.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton
Read MoreWhy would God make plants that are poisonous if He said to Adam and Eve they could eat all the plants?
Question: Why would God make plants that are poisonous if He said to Adam and Eve they could eat all the plants (except for the one tree)? Answer: “And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit…
Read MoreI sinned, getting a woman pregnant, and now I need godly advice
Question: I am a Christian who backslid. During this period I entered an immoral relationship with a woman a few years older than me, banking on her maturity. She called to tell me she’s pregnant. I don’t want to marry her because I have to hear from God. Aside from that, my love for her…
Read MoreDefining Repentance
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/DefiningRepentance.mp3 by Steve Brewer
Read MoreAre cartoons dangerous?
Question: Now I have a question concerning cartoons. I know the eye is a window into the soul and you should only do what is just, what is pure, and what is worthy; I know that. My question is if watching cartoons such as Dragonball Z or Pokemon really a sin? There are people who…
Read MoreSince Christ died for our sins, do we have any responsibility to give up sins?
Question: I have been telling people that, though I fully accept that Jesus sacrificed Himself for our sake and that He also died because of our sins. People tell me that He only died for our sins, and I find this confusing because in my mind mentally, verbally, and physically tormenting someone is sin. I also…
Read MoreWhere does God say not to celebrate Jesus’ birth?
Question: Where in the Bible does God tell us not to celebrate Jesus’ birthday, but His death, resurrection, and return? Are we really not to celebrate Christmas as Jesus’ birth? Answer: Your question is backward. God told us everything needed for life and godliness (II Peter 1:2-4). “Everything” leaves nothing out. So the question is…
Read MoreIs it wrong to have images of animals or men for toys?
Question: Are stuffed toys, teddy bears, barbie dolls, and so on related to witchcraft? In Deuteronomy 4:4-18 it mentions graven images. Is this really referring to teddy bears, stuffed toys, and so forth? As I believe, these verses are related to idols that people worshipped. Teddy bears, stuffed toys are only toys and not represent…
Read MoreAre Christians individually married to Christ?
Question: Does the Bible talk about individuals being a bride of God or a bride of Christ? It is my understanding that the church as a whole is the bride of Christ, and I think it is not accurate to say things “I am married to God” or “Christ is my husband.” I know it…
Read MoreCan the adulterer marry again and that marriage be acceptable to God?
Question: Hello and God bless, I have some questions that I hope you can address. I am a born-again Christian who has suffered through a divorce. This divorce was not my desire, as I absolutely believe in marriage vows and the concept “until death do us part.” I want always to make the right choices,…
Read MoreIs God sending me signs?
Question: Does God send us signs? I have known this guy well for five years. He and I just clicked so well, and when we are together everything is so easy. However, he lives in a different state, though he still comes back to visit me and his family. We have talked about being together…
Read MoreI don’t know if I should wait for my wife to come back or move on
Question: Hello, I came across your web site while searching for answers on adultery. To try to make it short my wife and got married at a very young age. We felt that it was the correct thing to do because we had moved in with each other. A few months after getting married she felt…
Read MoreWhy can’t I remarry if I fought the divorce?
Question: If my wife files for a divorce and I fight it because she is not divorcing me for adultery and the courts give her her way, am I not allowed to remarry even if I fought it and was forced to allow her a divorce? Answer: There is only one exception given that allows…
Read MoreIf “two become one,” do they lose their identity?
Question: In Mathew 19:5, how do they become one? If they are one and yet they are two, do they lose their identity? Answer: In Matthew 19:5, Jesus is quoting: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). The Hebrew…
Read MoreDid God create darkness or did it always exist?
Question: Genesis 1 speaks of darkness existing over the waters before creation. Was darkness something made or has it always existed? Did God create the initial darkness before He separated the initial light from darkness? I’m asking because a friend asked me this question. Also was God not light? So why was there a need…
Read MoreWhat is meant by God’s ways being higher than man’s?
Question: It says in Isaiah 55:9, “For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” I don’t completely understand. Answer: You will run across people with all sorts of excuses as to why they are convinced God would never forgive…
Read MoreHow can the new covenant be different from the old if there are so many similarities?
Question: In Jeremiah 31:31-34, it says God said he’d make a new covenant that was not like the old one, but the new covenant had similarities to the old one. Thanks for your time. Answer: Jeremiah 31:31-34 is discussed at length in Hebrews 8-10. God is still God, morality remains the same, so it is…
Read MoreI’m not certain if I should go through with this
Question: I am 24 and facing a serious problem managing my thoughts. I know you are a preacher and expect you to help me with Scripture. Several years ago I fell in love with a sister at a distant congregation. I exposed my mind to her, but then I was afraid. Later I called off…
Read MoreI recently found out my ex-wife was married before we married. Is my second marriage proper?
Question: Hello, I was married to a woman I recently discovered was married previously. She never told me that she was married, for if she had, I would not have married her. In less than a year, she divorced me for irreconcilable differences. About two years later, I married again. My wife and I have…
Read MoreWhat are “the times and seasons?”
Question: Would you please make a short explanation of Acts 1:7? What is meant by the “times and seasons?” The duration of the Kingdom? Thank you very much. I appreciate your website and use it often. Answer: “Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the…
Read MoreWhy can’t my sister get baptized?
Question: In a second marriage where a non-Christian is wanting to become a Christian but was divorced for reasons other than adultery, is the sin the adultery or the remarriage? I am asking this in the context of repenting. Do you repent of the adultery in this second marriage or repent of the divorce and remarriage and…
Read MoreWill Jews be judged under the law or the new covenant?
Question: Will Jews be judged under the law or the new covenant? Answer: There is only one covenant in effect today. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Everyone is judged according to Jesus’ teachings. “He…
Read MoreDoes II Peter 3:8 mean God’s days are different from people’s days?
Question: “But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day” (II Peter 3:8). I don’t understand this verse? Didn’t you say that God’s days and people’s days weren’t different? Answer: “Knowing this first: that scoffers will come…
Read MoreEvidence of Pardon: How Can I Know I Am Saved?
by Kenneth E. Thomas Christianity is a system of faith, but it is not a leap of faith. Our faith in God is founded firmly upon the evidence of His existence found in His creation. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). “Because what may be known…
Read MoreThe Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalm 39 I. It was a rickety wagon that the man was using. He had been moving goods for many years and was quite good at it. This family needed to be moved across town, so he piled their worldly possessions onto his wagon. The last load made quite a…
Read MoreWhere does it say that if you reject Jesus you will spend eternity in hell?
Question: Where in scripture does it say that if you reject Jesus Christ as the Son of God you will spend eternity in hell? I have searched high and low and cannot find it. It does state in Revelations that if you are found with the mark of the beast you will go to hell.…
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