What is my responsibility when I know that a person is sinning within the church?
Question: What is my responsibility when I know that a person is sinning within the church? The church that I attend has been hit with past and present members being charged by the law for pedophilia: one member has received a seven-year jail sentence; there is a woman who once worked in the church’s children…
Read MoreWhat was before the heavens and earth? Where does God come from?
Question: God created heaven and earth. What was around before heaven and earth? Where does God come from? Answer: In regards to the creation, see: Could there have been a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2? How old is the world? Was there a world before Genesis? In regards to God, the Bible simply assumes that God…
Read MoreAre we all descendants of Adam and Eve and all related?
Question: Did God only create Adam and Eve? Does that mean we are all descendants of Adam and Eve, and if so are we all related? Answer: “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God…
Read MoreCan you answer some questions about Satan and Hell?
Question: As I understand it, Satan was an angel who was cast out of heaven into the depths of hell. Did God create hell? Does Satan rule hell? Is hell a place? Is Satan just one person, or being, or are there many who help him? If Satan was cast out of heaven, how come…
Read MoreWhere did Jesus carry his own cross?
Question: For school, I’m learning about Easter. Where did Jesus carry his own cross? Answer: It is good to hear that your school is encouraging you to be interested in religious matters. I hope you learn a lot from your assignment. Many myths have grown up around Jesus. The gospels present a beautiful and strong…
Read MoreAm I being too controlling?
Question: My being too controlling on the kids is generally directed towards my eldest. He is a great child: very respectful, wins awards for citizenship, and all the teachers adore him and praise him. My problem is I snap at him for anything. Instead of being able to let it roll off, I have to put…
Read MoreDid I go too far in spanking my daughter?
Question: I am a recently separated mom of three children ages 13, 10 and 8. The older two are girls. My thirteen-year-old really started to act up this school year, only a few months after her father and I separated. She was caught skipping classes twice earlier in the school year. I had to take…
Read MoreMan and Beast
by Bryan Matthew Dockens In view of modern “animal rights” activism, it is appropriate to consider the proper relationship of man to beast. Animals Are Inferior to Man On the sixth day God created the animals and declared His creation “good” (Genesis 1:25), but that same day “God created man in His own image” (Genesis…
Read MoreLook to Yourselves
by Ron Drumm Have you ever noticed how easy it is to see the faults of someone else? Most of us know how to point the finger at the person who has messed up. Taking responsibility and accepting the blame is not what most of us think about when something goes wrong! In the church,…
Read MoreLiving Together Before Marriage
by Ray Fowler Here are some statistics on living together before marriage from Michael McManus, the president of Marriage Savers. Statistically speaking, living together is not a trial of marriage, but rather a training for divorce. The number of unmarried couples living together soared 12-fold from 430,000 in 1960 to 5.4 million in 2005. More…
Read MoreLest We Forget
by Steven Harper Many a monument has been erected with those words somewhere engraved on its surface in the hopes that those who see it will be reminded of the sacrifices made and the lives lost for the cause [whatever the cause may have been]. It is usually found on some sort of war memorials, but…
Read MoreA Lesson from Noah
by Art Driedger III Many today scoff at the story of Noah’s ark, doubting that there was ever a flood that covered the whole earth. Well, I must admit that it is an amazing story because the flood was catastrophic. Of course, for practical purposes, the only evidence for the flood is found in the…
Read MoreLeaving a Vacancy
by Irvin Himmel via Guardian of Truth XL: 7 p. 4, April 4, 1996 Eddie was a clerk in a hardware store. He made a name for himself as the most inefficient and contentious salesman ever. The atmosphere when he was absent one day was like the tranquil beauty of summer weather after a bad thunderstorm. One…
Read MoreMy wife and I aren’t talking anymore. What do I do?
Question: I think I’ve damaged my marriage so badly that my wife wants a divorce. I’m controlling and I’m hard on the kids. I need to act better to them and be less overbearing, especially to my eldest. But I do love my kids dearly. My wife thinks I’ve cheated on her, yet I never have. I called a…
Read MoreHow could Jesus be in the grave three days and nights if he died on Friday and rose on Sunday?
Question: From Friday around 6 p.m. to Sunday around 6 a.m. is 36 hours that Jesus was in the grave. How does that cover the three days and three nights (72 hours) that Jesus himself predicted? Answer: “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will…
Read MoreHow can you take up a cross and follow Christ today?
Question: Regarding Matthew 10:38: What is it to take a cross and follow Christ today? Answer: We see the cross today as the jagged, wooden instrument used in putting to death Jesus Christ our Savior. Yet before His followers had even a slight idea that Jesus would die by that manner, Jesus spoke of the cross.…
Read MoreCan you repent from your sins right before you die and still go to heaven?
Question: Can you repent from your sins right before you die and still go to heaven? Answer: Perhaps in theory, but it would be difficult to accomplish since we generally do not know when we will die. “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend…
Read MoreWho rules the world, God or Satan?
Question: I was just reading from your web site. I do that from time to time. It’s a great site. Thanks for doing it. Anyway, I was reading your sermon on Satan. You wrote: C. Meanwhile, Satan continues to rule this world 1. All sinners are under his dominion – Ephesians 2:1-2; Colossians 1:13 2. He manipulates and controls the…
Read MoreHow do you get over the embarrassment of spanking a teenager?
Question: I’m glad I came across your website and read so many things from other dads of older boys. I’m a single dad of a 13-year-old boy. I’ve been needing to spank him for his improper attitude, but I have been very afraid to. Mostly because I’m uptight about male nudity, but I realize that…
Read MoreIs oral sex before marriage ok?
Question: Is oral sex before marriage ok? Answer: When people want to justify a behavior that deep down inside themselves they know they shouldn’t do, they will redefine terms that cast their actions into a better light. I’ve noticed in recent years that people, young people especially, are making the definition of sex more specific…
Read MoreThe “Law” in Christ
by Robert F. Turner When Martin Luther sought to counter the Roman Catholics’ over-emphasis on “works” for salvation, he adopted such an emphasis on “grace” that his followers practically lost sight of the necessity for obedience. And the pendulum continues to swing! Judging by public prayers and careless statements made in articles and sermons some…
Read MoreThe Kings of the Earth
by Wayne S. Walker “All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD, when they hear the words of Your mouth’ (Psalm 138:4). While we understand that God’s greatest gift to mankind involves salvation through Jesus Christ, we know that His plan for our lives here on this earth also includes civil government…
Read MoreCrossing the Sea
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton The Junior High class had an excellent question the other day: Just where did the Israelites cross over from Egypt to the Sinai Peninsula? If you look at the maps in the back of most of our Bibles you will find multiple routes shown. None of the routes actually cross the…
Read MoreHe Didn’t Write It
by Robert McKay Mormons believe that the Book of Mormon is a product of divine inspiration. They feel that God both caused the book to be written and provided means for its translation. Mormons are adamant in taking the position that Joseph Smith did not write the Book of Mormon. Bruce R. McConkie wrote, “no man (and this…
Read MoreDemoniacs
by Bobby K. Thompson via The Jackson Drive News and Notes, No. 2, Jan. 9, 2005. A demoniac is defined: “a person supposedly possessed by a demon.” The word is frequently used in the New Testament, and applied to persons suffering under the possession of a demon or evil spirit. Much is being said lately…
Read MoreMy wife no longer has a desire for sex. What do I do?
Question: My wife has an illness that has effectively killed her desire for intercourse. I’m certainly not going to force her to do something that does not feel right for her. However, I am at my wit’s end. I still have desires for intercourse and I don’t have any outlets right now for it except…
Read MoreWhy don’t you use the Book of Enoch?
Question: I really love your site. I thought your understanding of Scripture was awesome and that you guys are doing a great job. However, your interpretation of Genesis 6 is completely off, and I pray that because of this the sheep are not lead astray. I say this because if your students, or anyone, understood what…
Read MoreJust Your Average Joe
by Steven Harper Joe was born in a small town in the Midwest and was welcomed into the family by his parents, both of whom were committed, believing disciples who had come out of denominationalism and a long family history of following religious beliefs, not in accord with New Testament Christianity. His parents had the…
Read MoreJesus of Nazareth: The World’s Greatest Character
by N. B. Hardeman The Dallas Lectures for 1943, pages 122-125. Back in 1943, N. B. Hardeman and ten other men preached a series of sermons in Dallas, Texas—brother Hardeman was the featured speaker of the group. There were fifteen sermons with brother Hardeman preaching five of them. The sermons were recorded and printed in…
Read MoreJesus and the Sabbath Law
by Walton Weaver From That They All May Be One: Studies on Unity, Freedom and Authority in the Body of Christ, pp. 90-93 Those who adopt this way of handling the word of God believe that the law of love gives them the “right” to exalt love above God’s law and to act on their own…
Read MoreI Wanted to Change the World
Author Unknown When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town and as an older man, I…
Read MoreI Study My Bible Like I Plow My Field
Author Unknown A farmer explained: “I study my Bible like I plow my field. Oftentimes when I’m plowing or breaking new ground, my plow will get hung under a root, and if I’m going at a pretty good clip it will really jar me. But I don’t get mad and beat my mule and burn…
Read MoreIs There a God?
by Keith Sharp In 1986 a famous visitor made a brief tour of the inner solar system. A luminous body with a long, faint tail hurried on its journey around the sun and returned to the recesses of space. The British astronomer Edmond Halley observed this phenomenon in 1682 and, based on the times of…
Read MoreWhat needs to happen if I want to be saved?
Question: I’m a person that’s interested in Christ. I walk into your church… I hear your message and decide I no longer want to live this life, nor risk not going to heaven. Assuming there’s an altar call or an invitation or whatever you call it; I walk up, then what? Please tell me what happens next,…
Read MoreWas Jesus ever long winded?
Question: I am annoyed by the long-winded answers that are found here. The truth is far more simple than the answers on this website. Do you think Jesus talked in such a way? While there may be truth on this website, it is well hidden, reminding me well of the saying, “a needle in a…
Read MoreIs It Always Wrong to Judge?
by Bob Myhan There are those who seem to think that it is always wrong to judge because Jesus said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). We can know with certainty, however, that this was definitely not what Jesus meant. We know this because He also said, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge…
Read MoreHow do I stop my daughters from stealing?
Question: [Note to readers: I used automated translation software to get the gist of what was written and then rewrote it for clarity. Please regard any errors in the translation as mistakes on my part.] I need some help solving a problem that I have with my daughters. Any advice or suggestions would be welcomed.…
Read MoreSatan
Text: Ezekiel 28:12-19 I. For a being who has plagued mankind since the beginning, it is surprising how little people know about Satan A. Some declare he really doesn’t exist. To these people, he is just the personification of evil in mankind. B. Others imagine a character with horns and a pitchfork who governs the realm where…
Read MoreUnderstanding Matthew 24
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton The teachings of Jesus recorded in Matthew 24 are commonly misapplied by people in the denominational world. People want to know what will happen in the future. They don’t enjoy having secrets kept from them. This is true whether we are talking about our jobs lasting another year or about important…
Read MoreIn the Words of the Pope and the Church
by Jefferson David Tant Most people are familiar with the Roman Catholic Church and the man who is its leader, the Pope of Rome. The history of this office can be traced at least back to around 600 AD when Boniface III assumed the title of Bishop or Pope. While some claim that the first…
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