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Is starting a camping business wrong?
Question: I want to start a camping business near a lakeside view in a village area where people come for tourism and sightseeing. They stay to relax and enjoy nature, and we provide tents and food. We do not sell alcohol at our camping site. However, sometimes some customers come after drinking alcohol outside and…
Read MoreDo I need to be baptized again?
Question: Greetings! I have a question about baptism. I’m a baptized believer but have questioned my baptism after reading that some folks hold the position that baptism is invalid if the recipient didn’t understand that its purpose was to have our sins remitted. I turned to the Lord for the first time in my life…
Read MoreHow can I convince someone that being a nudist is wrong?
Question: Good evening, I understand that being a nudist is sinful. Walking around naked with strangers, friends, or family is shameful and against the will and law of God. Walking around naked is rebellion against God. God commands modesty. Sin is sin. So a person who is engaging in nudism after being told that it…
Read MoreWhy are some prophecies written in the past tense?
Question: Since Isaiah 53 is a prophecy about the coming of Christ, why is it written in the past tense? Answer: One way God emphasizes the certainty of what He declares about the future is to express it as if it has already occurred. Scholars call this the “prophetic perfect tense.” Speaking of the future…
Read MoreIs my hobby becoming an idol?
Question: Dear Sir, I have a question about an issue I have been having and can’t figure out how to handle it. I have been doing a creative hobby, but I wasn’t doing it alone; I used AI. So it took up a lot of time and became unhealthy because I kept doing it excessively…
Read MoreIs it scriptural to divorce your unbelieving spouse?
Question: Dear Brother Jeff. Good day and God bless. Brother Jeff, you answered me concerning a brother who divorced his wife, without what Matthew 19:9 taught us. This Sunday our brethren replied regarding the divorced couple. They reckon the sister in the picture divorced her first and second husbands because they were unbelievers (I Corinthians7:12-16),…
Read MoreHow do I avoid problems with a sudden increase in income?
Question: Hello Brother Jeff, Your work on the La Vista site continues to be a blessing. God has blessed me with a new job that will just about double my income. I’m wondering, in your experience as a preacher and elder, if you’ve seen people go wrong spiritually with such a big income change, and…
Read MoreWhat do I tell someone who desires to date a weak Christian?
Question: Hi Mr. Jeff, I emailed you several years ago. I wonder if you still answer emails. A lot has happened in my walk as a Christian, and I am very thankful that I’ve seen Christ’s faithfulness more and more. May He be glorified in everything and in all things. I want to ask a…
Read MoreAre Matthew 24:30 and Revelation 1:7 referring to the same event?
Question: “This generation” in Matthew 24 makes it clear that the signs were not about the end of the world. But the phrase “all tribes on the earth shall mourn” is hard to understand. The phrase was used in Revelation 1:7 and Matthew 24:30. If it meant the destruction of Jerusalem in Matthew, then it must also…
Read MoreDid God command worship in the Temple every Sabbath?
Question: Was worship in the temple on every Sabbath day each week a tradition that got started somewhere along the way? I ask because I can’t find anywhere in Scripture that God established weekly worship on Saturday. The sabbath was simply a day of rest. Thank you. Answer: “Speak to the sons of Israel and say…
Read MoreDoes Acts 2:42 show that only Christians may partake of the Lord’s Supper?
Question: In the discussion “Should congregations practice closed communion?” you say that “No passage indicates that the Lord’s Supper must only be offered to Christians. It only has meaning for Christians, but we don’t add rules God didn’t give. If a non-Christian wishes to partake of the Lord’s Supper, it doesn’t change his status before…
Read MoreWas helping the tribe of Benjamin find wives wrong?
Question: I just finished the Book of Judges, and I have a question: Was helping Benjamin by sending wives to the remaining men wrong? Answer: During the days of the Judges, the tribe of Benjamin allowed homosexuality to exist within their borders. This upset the rest of Israel so greatly that they attacked Benjamin and…
Read MoreIs it wrong to partake of the Lord’s Supper when you can’t attend services at a church?
Question: A discussion recently came up along the lines of Brother Eubanks’ article on the Lord’s Supper. I agree that one should not purposefully forsake the assembly and take the Lord’s Supper at home or elsewhere when a congregation is available. We have met in small groups during ice storms or flooding when the congregation could…
Read MoreIs it wrong to attend football games where alcohol is served?
Question: I have a question about whether I should give up on something. Over the last 20 years or so, I’ve gone to college football games about once a year. A lot of nonsense takes place at those events (I’m sure you know). My primary concern has become all the alcohol consumption that is taking…
Read MoreDo you have more articles by Matthew Bassford?
Question: Hello. I have discovered articles from you and other Christian men and preachers on the La Vista congregation’s website. One of the men was Matthew Bassford. He posted one entitled “Insecurity” that I very much relate to, and I wanted to know if I could find any more of his lessons. I was raised…
Read MoreWhat Is and What Is Not Important About Baptism
by David Gibson A tour ad stated, “Have you ever wanted to be baptized in the Jordan River?” Since Jesus was baptized there, is that the best location? In the Bible, people were baptized wherever, but all were saved by grace (Titus 3:5-7). Since salvation is so urgent (Acts 8:36-39), is flying 5700-plus miles for…
Read MoreWhere was the one taken?
Question: In Matthew 24:40-41, where is the one taken, and why is the other one left? Thank you. Answer: “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the…
Read MoreWhat scriptures were the Bereans searching?
Question: In Acts 17:11, what scriptures were they searching to see if the things they were taught were so? Thank you. Answer: “Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three…
Read MoreI owe your congregation a debt of thanks
If I were a betting man, I’d bet you get a million of these a year. But I owe your congregation thanks, and I’m probably going to share more than you’d like. I’ve been a Christian since I was twelve. Raised in the church. I’m nearing 40 now. Several years ago, I was a drunk.…
Read MoreDoes the Roman Catholic Church decide on matters not directly mentioned in the Bible?
Question: I watched a debate about sola scriptura, and a Catholic apologist made the following argument against it. He said the Bible doesn’t specifically address some things. One thing he pointed out was prepubescent marriage and cousin marriage. His question was: if the bible is the sole source of faith and doctrine, where does the…
Read MoreWere the five foolish virgins lost?
Question: Hello, I would like to discuss with you the ultimate fate of the five foolish virgins who were shut out. My understanding is that the five foolish virgins simply missed out on sharing the Millennial Feast with God and rejoicing in Christ’s presence; God’s statement that He did not “know” them signifies His disapproval…
Read MoreDo you still have free will after accepting God?
Question: I had one of our members ask me a question I’m not sure how to answer. The question is: Do Christians who have accepted God still have free will? Answer: If a Christian did not have free will, then he could not be lost. See: There’s No Security for the Believer in “Once Saved, Always…
Read MoreI’ve been feeling very depressed
Question: Dear Sir, I recently suffered a blow—specifically, the affliction of physical illness—and I have been feeling sorrowful and distressed. When I am at church among my fellow Christian brothers and sisters, I regain my strength and feel filled with hope. Yet, when I return home and face my current situation, I see no hope;…
Read MoreWhere did the concept of one man and one woman come from?
Question: Where was this concept of one man and one woman first introduced, and why did early people marry many women and have many concubines? Were there no marriage laws among early mankind? Did God ignore or permit early people to marry and have relations with as many women as they wished? Answer: The concept…
Read MoreCan someone remain in an adulterous marriage without sin?
Question: The minister at my congregation recently led a Bible study on marriage, divorce, and remarriage. During the study, he said that he agrees with Matthew 19:9, which teaches that a spouse may divorce someone because of sexual immorality. However, he then argued that the guilty party is also permitted to remarry. He repeatedly emphasized…
Read MoreSince no church is perfect, can we attend any church?
Question: Why do people have the “no church is perfect” mentality? I had a conversation with my mother about a church she was trying to convince me to go to. It was a church I knew about, and I told her I didn’t want to go because the church she spoke of was part of…
Read MoreDid I judge correctly that my wife committed adultery?
Question: Many years ago, my first wife and I got a divorce. I came home one night after church, and she told me she wanted a divorce. I didn’t want it, and she said it was for irreconcilable differences. So we separated for a bit, then tried reconciliation, which ended up failing. While separated, I…
Read MoreHow can marrying a divorced woman be ongoing adultery?
Question: In Matthew 19:9, “commits adultery” is used twice in this verse. The first time, concerning the husband, it is in the present tense. Now, the present tense does not always mean ongoing action. The context must determine that. The second time, concerning the wife, it is in the aorist tense. Aorist tense never is ongoing.…
Read MoreShould Christians not talk to non-Christians?
Question: Hello Pastor, and peace be with you this Lord’s Day. I have been studying the book of Romans today and have two questions: Question 1: When I sincerely turned to God, I found myself in a certain situation: I became willing to befriend and communicate only with Christians, while deleting or blocking non-believers. I…
Read MoreHow do we deal with my son who decided to live with a woman?
Question: Greetings in Christ, beloved brother, By God’s grace, my family and I are doing well, striving to persevere as Christians. I hope you, your family, and the saints around you are generally doing well in the Kingdom there in your area. Our efforts in the Lord’s work are gradually bearing some fruit, and we…
Read MoreWhen does jealousy go too far?
Question: In your sermon on jealousy, point C, you said that jealousy between a husband and wife can go too far. I was wondering if you could give me an example of righteous jealousy between a husband and wife and an example of jealousy that has gone too far. Answer: Jealousy can be used in…
Read MoreWhen was the prophecy of restoring the land fulfilled?
Question: When was Deuteronomy 30:5 fulfilled? Thank you. Answer: “So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you, and you return to the…
Read MoreWhat does “under the earth” mean?
Question: Hi Jeff, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth” (Philippians 2:10 NKJV). Does the phrase “those under the earth” refer to those in the grave? Thank you! Answer: We typically refer to heaven as being located…
Read MoreHow are the Father and Jesus related?
Question: Dear Brethren in Christ, Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I hope this email finds you in good health and spirit. Recently, certain doctrinal questions have arisen within our congregation. Some members are concerned that our local preacher’s teachings regarding the nature and deity of Christ differ…
Read MoreWill God heal illnesses caused by sin?
Question: Hello, How have you been lately? May God bless you. I would like to ask a question: Will God heal illnesses caused by sin? (I believe that everything is in God’s hands.) After all, if God has chosen someone, He will see it through to the end—is that right? God’s plans are beyond human…
Read MoreI feel so lazy and irresponsible
Question: Hello, I feel so bad, so guilty, so scared to lose my salvation because I’ve been ill and feel like I lost my first love. I was so active in the church, at home, and in my hobbies. I can do the bare minimum at home, and I’ve cut my work hours to a…
Read MoreCan a congregation ask its preacher to step down?
Question: Dear Sir, I greet you in the name of Christ, and thanks for all that you do for the church. I would like to ask a great question that has been bothering me. Can a congregation tell a preacher to step down from his role because of old age? This would be the congregation’s decision…
Read MoreDid Jesus feel shame?
Question: Hi brother Jeffrey, A friend of mine from our congregation wrote a short article in which he stated Jesus felt shame. He used Matthew 23:37-39, where Jesus laments over Jerusalem. He said Jesus was ashamed of Jerusalem. I don’t believe this to be true. My friend also stated that Jesus felt the guilt of…
Read MoreWhy do so many myths of gods’ births involve stars?
Question: Why do stories of many gods’ births have a star at their births, such as Krishna? Answer: Mankind has long toyed with the idea that the stars controlled events. Astrology is “The study of the movements and relative positions of celestial bodies and their supposed influence on human affairs.” It is a belief that…
Read MoreYour Q&A section is a wonderful teaching tool
Question: The Q&A section of your website is a wonderful teaching tool and a great ministry! I would like to say “thank you” for providing this service. I have asked our eldership to follow suit with what you have done. In large congregations with large classes, people are sometimes reluctant to ask important questions. This…
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