Answer
Can God only act if man permits it?
Question: Hello Mr. Hamilton, I came across a theory by the late Myles Munroe, and that is the idea that God needs our permission to act on Earth and gets this permission by way of our prayers. His premise for this theory is this: All spirits need a dirt body to act upon the Earth. Since…
Read MoreIs it wrong to sing and play with unbelievers?
Question: My friend studied music in a university, graduated, and joined the state music band, which means he will always play in state events. However, He was disfellowshiped by the church on the grounds of playing instruments and singing with unbelievers. Is this right or wrong? In addition to this, I have another friend and…
Read MoreWhen is it permissible to change congregations locally?
Question: Dear Brother, I’ll get right to the point with my question, and then some brief context. When is it permissible scripturally for a member and or their family to switch local congregations? The context We live in a town with several [perceived] biblically sound congregations, of which my family and I are a part…
Read MoreHow can you add to the Word?
Question: There is a teaching that says “adding or subtracting” from God’s word is a sin. My question is how can you add to the word? My congregation teaches that if you add musical instruments to worship, you are adding to the word because the word states “to sing and make music in your hearts”. The word…
Read MoreWhen is restitution required?
Question: I’m aware that I am very scrupulous. I’ve become very very numb to God because on one end I’m entirely too obsessive and want to be perfect. Then on the other end, I become numb to avoid trying to gain perfection. I’ve quit jobs due to my religious anxiety and feeling the need to…
Read MoreWhat is your experience with marketing your church?
Question: Hi, I am forming a team to explore how to market our church. We are only 5 years old and have about 60 members. We have a thin website and a members-only Facebook page. Please share your lessons learned on marketing your church. Thank you. Answer: We don’t have a church. We belong to…
Read MoreDoes it mean I’ll never marry because I have strong feelings for a married man?
Question: I have been struggling greatly recently with my feelings for a very close friend of mine. The problem is that he is married. He and I were very close to each other about five years ago. We both liked each other, but never actually dated due to long distance. We lost touch for a…
Read MoreMeet the Preacher
by Danny Dodd You may know us, but then again you may not. Preachers have a way of hiding behind the pulpit. We can easily be stereotyped. Through experience, we often learn to become very guarded and protective of our hearts and homes. Paradoxically though we often feel obligated to give even more of ourselves…
Read MoreShould past sexual sins be discussed before marriage?
Question: Hello, I’m a 30-year-old female Christian. My boyfriend is a few years older and a Christian as well. We have been together for several months. He is a wonderful man. However, he has a sexual past that he refuses to discuss. He says that it has no benefit and will cause jealousy and insecurity…
Read MoreHow can a girl and boy be pure again after committing fornication?
Question: It really amazed me to cross your path this afternoon. I’m a 24-year-old youth who has been seeking the correct answer about how can boyfriend and girlfriend be clean and pure again before God after they have committed fornication. I am in a similar situation for a long time now, just as how this…
Read MoreAm I lost because I passed up an opportunity to teach?
Question: Since being baptized, I have been interested and active in soul winning. I taught Bible classes for children, worked with VBS, worked with a bus ministry, showed the Jule Miller Film Strips, and sent out Bible correspondence course lessons. I attend worship and Bible study three times a week. When my husband was in…
Read MoreHow do you repent of childhood sins?
Question: My brother and I do not get along. When we were kids we experimented with sexual sins. It was years ago. My mother mentioned that maybe, because of the things that I confessed had happened between my brother and me, we opened some demonic portal and need to repent. How does one repent from…
Read MoreIs it wrong to do volunteer work that may interfere with attending services?
Question: Jeffrey, I want to ask a question concerning non-government operations (NGOs) and volunteer groups. I have this desire to be part of such organizations and groups to help humans and contribute to society and humanity in general. But my challenge is that it can be time-consuming, which is affecting my presence in church (mostly…
Read MoreChallenges to positions on the death penalty and abortion
Question: [The following was sent in multi-color, multi-font format, which I find is usually done to distract readers. I removed all of it.] Good evening sir. Death Penalty After reading your article on ‘Early Christians and Abortion’ you seem to support the death penalty because you said, “When a criminal is put to death, it…
Read MoreHow do I find a godly man?
Question: I Corinthians 7:9 says it’s better to marry than to burn, but what if I can’t find anyone willing to build a godly marriage and abstain from premarital sex? I’m a 26-year-old woman and I have been faithful in respecting my body and God’s commandments. I’m still a virgin and haven’t fallen prey to…
Read MoreWhat do I do about my abusive husband?
Question: Sir, good morning. I am in my mid-twenties. I married a guy from the same church I attend. He, also, is in his mid-twenties. He is a very short-tempered man. I have completed my master’s and he is completed high school. He trained to teach the Bible. He is a song leader and a…
Read MoreHow do I keep my virginity without him cheating on me?
Question: Good evening, I am a new member. Please, I am 20 years old and a virgin. I have a fiance who promised to marry me, He is always asking me to come to his place. Is it advisable? Answer: When I teach young people about sexual matters, I give extra emphasis to the young…
Read MoreWould God bless our marriage after living together?
Question: Hello! Thank you for answering so many important questions. My boyfriend and I have been together for 2 years, and we weren’t Christians when we started dating. In the last few months, our faith has shifted and we are trying to clean our lives up. We are not married, but we are living together…
Read MoreI know God has been keeping me with my boyfriend, so am I wrong to stay?
Question: Praise the Lord, I’m an 18 years old Christian girl and am dating a Muslim boy who’s 22 years old now. We have been in a relationship for two years now. We are deeply in love and are planning to get married after two years when I am done with my college. About my…
Read MoreCan violence and wars end?
Question: We usually hear of killings, fighting, and wars, each and every day these days. All of us would love it if these would end. The question is: Can these acts of violence and wars end? Answer: “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage…
Read MoreWhat do you do about an adult child who remains a homosexual?
Question: If a child, who is an adult, wants to live a homosexual life, does not want to listen to God’s word, and does not claim to be a Christian, can a parent still talk to them? Can they visit their parents? Can they have a meal together? The parents are members of the Lord’s…
Read MoreI don’t want to be sorry for the wrong reasons
Question: I was raised Catholic and have not been baptized yet as an adult. For repentance do we need to go back and set everything right before being forgiven? Must we confess every lie we ever told to every person? Or is asking God to forgive us enough? And to move on from our past.…
Read MoreAre surrogacy and invitro-fertilization sinful?
Question: Good morning sir, I want to ask about the biblical principle on surrogacy and IVF. To me, since it involves the termination of an embryo, it seems wrong and more like a scientific abortion. I’ll be glad if you can shed more light on this, sir. Thank you. Answer: Like many things, surrogacy and…
Read MoreIs the second coming the last promise to be fulfilled?
Question: Is the second coming of Christ the last prophecy to be fulfilled? Answer: The judgment comes after the second coming. Heaven or hell awaits after the judgment (II Peter 3:13; I John 2:25). Thus, there are other promises that happen after the second coming.
Read MoreDid the vows I made in my head marry me to someone else?
Question: Hi! Before I married the love of my life, I would read stories online where the reader would marry either a character or a real person in the stories. I cannot remember if any of these stories included vows that I may have read and given in my head as I read. I struggled…
Read MoreWhat are some practical ways to spread the gospel?
Question: Good morning Brother Hamilton, I’d like to design a flyer to distribute in my hometown to inform people about our congregation. We live in a rural area that has numerous churches, and many of the churches of Christ are institutional. The few non-institutional congregations are small and shrinking. Your website’s home page is a…
Read MoreHow much confidence do I need in God?
Question: Mr. Hamilton I have another question I’d like to ask concerning some scripture I’ve been recently pondering and trying to understand. “But with whom was He grieved forty years? Was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware He that they should not enter into…
Read MoreIs leisure travel wrong?
Question: Dear brother, Do you think there is anything wrong with a Christian traveling for leisure? When traveling it is impossible to be involved in your local congregation’s work. Also, it is very hard to evangelize to anyone when you are never in one place very long and cannot form relationships. I almost feel guilty…
Read MoreMy preacher oversees several congregations. What do I do?
Question: God bless you for your detailed explanation of congregational cooperation. However, I’m still confused. My preacher is an overseer of many local congregations in our community. He appoints the preachers of such congregations, takes their offerings, sets up their church buildings, and makes decisions and policies for them. Unfortunately, we don’t have elders in…
Read MoreAre good works the result of salvation?
Question: Are good works the result of salvation? I was in a discussion earlier with someone of the Baptist faith who used Ephesians 2:10 to say that good works are the result of salvation and not required for salvation, since Paul is referring to us being saved in Ephesians 2:8-9, then immediately talks about how…
Read MoreAm I teaching my own doctrine?
Question: Jeffrey, I had a recent conversation with a Baptist about the plan of salvation. He was of the once saved always saved group. I suppose they are somewhat different than the Freewill Baptists? Anyhow, in teaching baptism for the remission of sins to this fellow, along with the truth that a Christian can fall…
Read MoreAre there different gospels?
Question: Hello, I have been seeing more and more about the Kingdom Gospel vs the Gospel of Grace. Dispensationalism is becoming very popular on YouTube, and people are actually turning toward this teaching. I have seen comments that the churches of Christ intertwine the kingdom gospel and the grace gospel. Basically, they are saying that…
Read MoreCan I borrow your material?
Question: Brother Hamilton, I hope this note finds you well. I am a minister and also serve as an elder in the church. I really appreciate your web page very much as it is very encouraging to me. Thank you for your efforts. I have a question. Are you OK with my borrowing from your…
Read MoreI’m so confused about baptism
Question: Hi Mr. Hamilton, Sorry to trouble you. I understand if you do not have time to read or respond, but I am very confused and would appreciate any help and any clarification you might be able to give. I don’t really know what to make of this, but I am sure you would have…
Read MoreDid you know the Roman Catholics changed worship from the Sabbath to Sunday?
Question: Hi, Did you know that the sabbath is Saturday, the seventh day of the week? Sunday is the first day of the week. Did you know that the Papal system takes credit for changing the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday? Father God establishes his dominion and his legal right to rule over…
Read MoreJustification by Works and Baptism
by Matthew W. Bassford At the end of Romans 3 and the beginning of Romans 4, we encounter the most famous of Paul’s teachings: justification by faith in Jesus. Throughout the context, he contrasts it with justification by works. Abraham was not justified by works, nor was David, nor can we be. From this magnificent…
Read MoreAre men called by God to preach?
Question: Why do some people say that in order for a man to preach he has to be called by God? Answer: “Called” is another way to say “invited” or “encouraged to come.” Those who are Christians have been called by God. “You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly…
Read MoreWhat was Jesus talking about in Luke 12:49-50?
Question: Dear Minister, I am deeply interested in your thoughts on something Jesus said. I came to cast fire on the earth and how I wish it were already kindled. I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished. The first is generally described as Jesus’s message…
Read MoreI use your material in my children’s class
Question: I am with the children’s ministry in the Lord’s church. I am using your materials to teach my children and it’s helping me a lot. I just want to thank you and pray that God will bless you with more insight in his word so you will continue to be a blessing to us.…
Read MoreHow is the church of Christ’s view of baptism different from the denominations?
Question: Hello, I recently came across a YouTube comment about baptism that puzzled me a bit: “It’s also important to know the church of Christ view of baptismal salvation is different from every other view; that of the Lutherans, Anglicans, Catholics or Orthodox.” Is this a correct assessment? If so, how is the church of…
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