Is it wrong to have a sex change?
Question: The greater part of my life, I dare say my entire life, I have felt that I am in the wrong body. I am a female but have always felt that I should be a male. As young as 2-3 years old I have had these feelings. Is it wrong to have a sex…
Read MoreMy wife committed adultery. We repaired the marriage, but I still hurt. What can I do?
Question: The letter written to regarding the woman with the adulterous affair really hit home. My wife after 30 years cheated on me with another man. I have forgiven her. She did not tell me, I found out and I have been torn ever since. It has been a year ago. We have restored our…
Read MoreIf you have evidence that your husband committed murder, should you tell the police?
Question: I have a friend who married a guy while he was in jail. She says she has evidence that her husband tried to murder a guy. He pleaded innocent, but the jury thought he was guilty. He still keeps his innocent plea. He is abusive toward his wife –verbally, mentally, etc. — gets angry,…
Read MoreHow are conflicts between military service and God’s will handled?
Question: I read the article on your web site about Christians and military service written by a friend of yours. It’s a question that I am grappling with right now. There are quite a few things in his article that I am compelled to question. One of them is the section under the GOVERNMENT (WE THE PEOPLE…
Read MoreTo Him Who is Able
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/ToHimWhoIsAble.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 3:13-21 I. Life happens. Things don’t always go smoothly. Problems arise, if for no other reason than that we live in a problem filled world. A. People get laid off. Homes are foreclosed. Bankruptcy might loom on the horizon. B. Families can be dysfunctional. Marriages strained. Children wayward. C. Congregations struggle…
Read MoreWhy does God punish?
Question: So when God punishes someone, with what intention does He do so? With the intention of getting payback? Or is it to correct us from something? For example, punishing us so we can repent and learn a lesson? Or does He do it to see us suffer for doing something bad? Answer: “‘Do I…
Read MoreWhy doesn’t Paul clearly state that tongue-speaking is useless?
Question: God be a witness today, brother, if the Gift of Tongues is useful for the edification of our faith in Christ Jesus or not! I am sick and tired of all these divisions in the Body of Christ — some say no, some say yes. If Tongues demonstrates no support from God, serving no…
Read MoreCouldn’t Jesus’ use of Lord for YHWH be due to later tampering of the text?
Question: In “Why is YHWH translated LORD?” you said: Some, such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses, object to using LORD in place of YHWH. However, they are ignoring God’s own translation of His name. For example, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 in Matthew 22:37, “Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all…
Read MoreA nurse suggested that I tell a dying Christian that it is alright to pass away. Is that proper?
Question: Our oldest member is 97 and is currently in a nursing home. From the looks of things, she is very near death. One of our members who has been very close to her was visiting her this afternoon and also talked to the charge nurse, who told her that she has seen many cases where the person…
Read MoreI don’t care about the Bible, but don’t you see the cruelty in killing animals for food?
Question: I am not concerned as to what the Bible says or not about animals, it contradicts itself. However, I am looking at human behavior and their attitude toward meat. We don’t really care where it comes from, as long as it is cheap. We don’t see the torture, abuse, and violation of these creatures…
Read MoreIs it wrong to ask God for the forgiveness of sins, but also have other things in mind to ask from Him?
Question: I have a question: I asked God for something and I hoped that He will help me out in it because I know I depend on Him. For some reason, every time I think I have sinned I seem to be really concerned about sinning because I think that God is going to punish…
Read MoreWhat more can I tell my ex-boyfriend to convince him of the truth?
Question: I currently attend a church of Christ. The reason I’m contacting you is that my now ex-boyfriend attends a Baptist church. He recently broke up with me because of religious differences. I would not attend his services because I believe that they are worshipping incorrectly. He didn’t think our relationship would work because of…
Read MoreAren’t there passages that say we are saved by faith?
Question: You say that “You will never find where the Bible says that baptism is a symbol, or that one is saved at the point of faith.” What about Luke 7:50? Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Ephesians 2:8 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from…
Read MoreHow do you know when a passage is talking about older men in a congregation or the elders of a congregation?
Question: I was wondering with Elder being mentioned in 1 or 2 or 3rd John and refers to a woman. I just remember reading it (II John 1; III John 1). I remember someone mentioning it to me a long time ago and the question I have now is how do you tell two elders…
Read MoreFollowing Bible Examples
by Earle H. West via The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 9, July 1952. Much of what we know today of the New Testament order comes by way of examples pictured for us in the Bible. Whenever people have earnestly sought to duplicate New Testament Christianity in the current age, they have strongly and rightly emphasized the…
Read MoreShould the Lord’s Supper be only taken at night?
Question: What is the Bible’s answer to the controversy about the time the Lord’s Supper should be taken on the first day of the week? Should it be only at night or any time upon the first day of the week? Answer: I know of no controversy regarding what time of the day the Lord’s…
Read MoreHow can you teach parents about spanking when my own parents abused me as a child?
Question: I recently came across this article on your website, about spanking young children as a form of punishment: Two and Three-Year-Olds: Raising Godly Children in a Wicked World. I was absolutely appalled by it. Thanks to articles like yours, many children in “God-fearing” homes are severely physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually abused when their parents…
Read MoreI took some pictures from my boyfriend, and he pushed me into a wall trying to get them back. Should I be concerned that he might be violent?
Question: I need some advice on a situation that just recently happened to me. I went to visit my boyfriend on Sunday night. At first, we were getting along, laughing and joking. Then I saw a picture of him and his ex-friend, about five of them. I walked toward them and took the pictures. He…
Read MoreWhat is it that I am missing?
Question: God truly does work in mysterious ways! My seventeen-year-old daughter came to me a few minutes ago as I was finishing up the kitchen for the night and told me that she had received counseling from a minister online and how great the advice given to her was. Seeing as I am a born…
Read MoreMy fifteen-year-old is staying out to all hours of the night. What do I do?
Question: The reason I type this question is that I have a 15-year-old son. He has been acting up over the last 2 to 3 months. He has always been a well-behaved lad. But over the last few months, he has been getting in with the wrong crowd at his high school. His grades are…
Read MoreDo I need to talk to my friend about her nose-piercing before talking to her about baptism?
Question: I have a friend who after recently being in a car accident has decided she wants to learn more about God and the Bible … in so many words. She said she’d like to come to church with me to see what the churches of Christ are like, and in passing said that they…
Read MorePETA exists because people kill animals sinfully
Question: Your story was filled with half-truths. PETA exists, not because people eat animals, but because people kill animals sinfully. Do you think God wanted our meat packaging companies to use a .45 to shoot a cow in the head before hanging them upside down, slicing their necks and letting them bleed to death? You…
Read MoreIs it wrong to refer to God as Jehovah in a prayer?
Question: Is it wrong or scripturally incorrect to refer to God as Jehovah? For instance, when you pray to Him, to address Him as Jehovah. In Matthew 6:9, Jesus is showing the disciples how to pray. He starts with “Our Father in Heaven.” Since Jesus never refers to God as Jehovah and when instructing His disciples how to pray…
Read MoreWhat was the significance of anointing Aaron as high priest?
Question: What was the significance of anointing Aaron as high priest? Answer: Anointing was a representation of setting something or someone apart for a special purpose. Thus, the altar was anointed before offerings were placed on them to God. “And you shall offer a bull every day as a sin offering for atonement. You shall…
Read MoreThank you for addressing problems few others are willing to write about
Question: I want to thank you for your web site and the fact you post articles and letters of everyday problems Christians may face that almost no one talks about. Often I search for help in responding to one of my readers concerning a private problem and most of the time I can’t find brethren…
Read MoreI’ve been enjoying your Genesis study
Question: I’ve been enjoying your Genesis study. Thanks for the hard work to bring God’s Word to people! Answer: I really appreciate the kind words.
Read MoreIs life all about God and never about us?
Question: Is life “all” about God and never about us? If so, are we ever allowed to enjoy personal pleasure for our own benefit? For example, marriage could be considered personal pleasure in that a relationship, future family, and sex are all involved. Or what about entertainment such as playing video games, or playing a…
Read MoreAlexander Campbell and the Church of Christ
by Wayne Jackson Members of the Lord’s church are sometimes erroneously referred to as “Campbellites.” What exactly is behind such appellation? It is a tiresome thing to have to respond, again and again, to the same misguided (and frequently dishonest) charges. But one is compelled, from time to time, to do so. First, Alexander Campbell…
Read MoreWhat is so bad about a cottage in a vineyard?
Question: “And the daughter of Zion is left as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city” (Isaiah 1:8). What’s so bad about ‘a cottage in a vineyard’ and a ‘lodge in a garden of cucumbers’? Answer: “Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with…
Read MoreHow can I pray without doubt when I know that sometimes I won’t get what I prayed for?
Question: I have a question about prayer. I understand that the Bible states that when we pray, we are to let our requests to God be given in faith, believing that we will receive. So if I pray that God will help me through a difficult time or give me the strength to overcome some…
Read MoreHow do I relate with my mother who was withdrawn from years ago?
Question: My mom was withdrawn from about 30 years ago when I was around 5 years old. She was withdrawn from because she got remarried after an unscriptural divorce. I am a faithful member of the church and I have two young children. What kind of relationship should I or can I have with her?…
Read MoreMy boyfriend and I have broken up so many times, I don’t know what to do. I love him, but I’m confused and need some help
Question: My friend told me to send you an e-mail because you really helped her out, and she thought that you could help me. I have been in a relationship with this boy for 7 months now. We have broken up so many times I lost count. We have been through a lot together making…
Read MoreCould the Roman Catholic’s early list of popes be accurate?
Question: The Catholics base their entire religion on the belief of ”Sacred Tradition” and ”Apostolic Supremacy.” Catholics claimed that a man named Linus was the second pope and succeeded Peter in 67 A.D. And they believe him to be the same Linus mention in II Timothy 4:21. They even have a list of popes [The…
Read MoreWhat does “vain thoughts” mean in Psalms 119:113?
Question: I recently came across a section of the Psalms that concerned me. Psalms 119:113 says in the KJV, “I hate vain thoughts, but thy law do I love.” Doing a Google search for the phrase “vain thoughts,” I came across a few articles, mostly from British writers of the eighteenth century, that asserted that…
Read MoreDoesn’t the Scriptures say that Edom took over Israel’s identity?
Question: I agree with you on Ezekiel 35, but according to Scripture Edom still exists. The Scriptures clearly show that Edom assumed true Israel’s identity when Israel was forced out of Samaria and Judah. The so-called Jew today is Edom according to Scripture. Please read Jeremiah 25. Moreover, read Ezekiel 35:9-15 again. According to the word, Edom…
Read MoreWater
by Wayne Greeson via Guardian of Truth XXXIII: 14, pp. 426-427, July 20, 1989 Water is truly an amazing substance, yet it is so common, so abundant that we take it for granted. Its chemical composition is the bonding of two gases, hydrogen and oxygen and it is identified in a chemist’s notation as H2O. We are…
Read MoreWhat do you know about the Black Hebrew Israelites?
Question: Hi. I hope all is well with you. Getting straight to the point, I want to get some information on a particular group of Christians who look at themselves as being black Hebrew Israelites. I’m not sure if they actually call themselves that but I’ve seen others refer to this group as Black Hebrew…
Read MoreAre all prominent theologians saying Obama is the antichrist?
Question: I was just talking to a friend of mine (who also happens to believe in UFO’s) saying that Obama is the antichrist and going on and on with all these flimsy arguments. He claims that all these prominent theologians are all saying the same thing. Is this true? What do you think? Answer: “For…
Read MoreWhat happens if I know God, but I sin?
Question: I was doing a little research on sin to try and understand it a little better. I have just read through the New Testament and I’m still unclear on some things. I read your article online about sin, it was very informative and helped me greatly, however, I have a question. It says in your…
Read MoreJesus was a vegetarian because the Bible was compiled by a bunch of meat-eaters
Question: I have read your article on your website regarding Jesus being a vegetarian. It seems that you are no different than the people who compiled the Bible way back to 400 AD. There is a lot of gospel regarding Jesus taught vegetarianism was removed because the early compilers of the Bible are meat-eaters. And the…
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