Answer
How many commandments are there now?
Question: How many commandments are there 10 or 9 or 11? Could you please confirm, one way or the other, that in the New Testament there are only nine commandments mentioned as commandments? Is that missing commandment is the fourth original commandment “Keep Holy the Sabbath Day”? So does this mean that in the Old…
Read MoreDo we withdraw from members who are attending another congregation for months?
Question: I read brother Hamilton’s article on Cross Congregational Fellowship with keen interest and have this question: Can fellowship be withdrawn from members who have absented themselves from their local congregation for months, but who have gone to another congregation to worship without first advising their local congregation that they will be worshipping elsewhere? Answer: Anyone not…
Read MoreMy mother threatens not to attend my wedding if I marry my Catholic boyfriend
Question: Hi, I am a 20-year-old daughter and student, currently living with my mother. I have a brother whose age isn’t far different than mine. My parents divorced when we were little, and my mother gained custody of both of us. We’ve been living together since. She is a proud mother with a good constant…
Read MoreIs Dominate Submissive role-playing bad?
Question: What I am doing does not involve sex. I just want to make that part of it clear This is something that brings in fast money, and I’ve been doing it for almost a year. I just don’t want people thinking I’m having sex for money. Everything done is consensual and agreed upon before…
Read MoreIs it wrong for my boyfriend to stay in my room while having financial trouble?
Question: I’m in a serious relationship. My man is having some financial and accommodation issues. My parents and I decided to assist him until he can stand on his feet. We brought him in to stay with us. We sleep in the same room, but we are not having sex. I want to know if…
Read MoreIs justification through faith? Is a sinner forgiven when he prays?
Question: Dear Mr. Hamilton, I was reading your article on the NIV and I found it very informative! I just want to start off by saying thank you I had no idea there were a few discrepancies I needed to be aware of. With regards to this, I had a question. I completely agree with the point…
Read MoreWould God forgive me if I left my husband for another man?
Question: I am on my second marriage. Neither my first husband nor myself was faithful during our marriage. I cheated first. My husband now and I have been on ends for about two years, but I believe he has remained faithful. I encountered several men during that time. I gave my life back to Christ…
Read MoreI don’t understand where you are getting gifts of the Holy Spirit in Acts 8:16
Question: I was reading one of your Q&A’s Must you speak in tongues to have the Holy Spirit? I was a bit confused about this tail end of a verse “They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” Why are…
Read MoreYou don’t interpret I Timothy 4:1-4 correctly
Question: I happened upon your site and didn’t have time for the whole thing but I thought I may help you with a correct interpretation of a passage you quote from St. Paul at the top: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving…
Read MoreIs it proper for my boyfriend to flirt with other women?
Question: I read one of the answers you gave a girl about kissing her old boyfriend while she was dating another guy, and she felt guilty about it. You said they were not married so it was OK. If my boyfriend and I have an understanding that we’re not going to date anyone else, and there…
Read MoreIs abortion justified to save the life of the mother?
Question: Hello! I was having a debate with my sister and I was wondering if you could help. We were debating about abortion, she says that any way you look at it, abortion is a sin and you are going to hell. But what if you are pregnant and if you were to continue carrying…
Read MoreAm I forgiven even though I repeat my adultery?
Question: Hi, I am a born-again Christian but have committed adultery as I am also married. I battle with the lustfulness of the flesh, and I don’t know how to manage it. I have prayed for forgiveness, but I still fall into the same temptation. How can I work on this? Am I forgiven, even…
Read MoreHow can there be adultery after divorce ends a marriage?
Question: You said on your website: “When one partner in a marriage commits adultery, the innocent party has the option to divorce the unrepentant adulterer and may marry someone else if he or she so chooses. The adulterer remains bound by the terms of his marriage covenant. Anyone marriage enters into will be adulterous so long as…
Read MoreSince Jesus is going to return with the blast of a trumpet, can’t instruments be used in the worship of him?
Question: If music is not authorized in New Testament worship, even to the point of sin if it is used, then when the Lord returns and that great trumpet sounds, will we then say that it isn’t a time of worship and praise? Are we willing to say that the Lord is in sin because…
Read MoreHow do I correct a lie that I’ve told for years?
Question: I lied for several years about something, and the substance of the lie is probably known by many people in college. It was just something to help my image; however, I recognize sin is sin. It is likely not criminal or anything of a serious kind. Do I need to confess to everyone, some…
Read MoreAre animal guides compatible with Christianity?
Question: I’m a teen and I got in trouble with my mom just for trying to contact my spirit animal. She said not to do it again because she does not want me to get possessed by a demon. She did not explain to me how or why. I was reading this question and answer…
Read MoreSince my girlfriend and I can’t have sex until we are married, is masturbating a sin?
Question: Hi, I would like to say I have spent the past month searching around and will be glad if you can give me the right answer. I am 26 years old man, have a spouse and we have a daughter. May I say we had a daughter before we were spiritually enlightened? We then…
Read MoreIs it wrong for a Christian to join a secular organization?
Question: Dear minister, I’m grateful I stumbled onto your site. It has been very helpful in finding answers to many specific questions I have. Thanks for your sound and biblical advice. It’s hard to find these days. I have a question about Habitat for Humanity. I’ve recently been going through a personal struggle at church.…
Read MoreWas the standard for priests to have short hair and trimmed beards?
Question: I was wondering about Ezekiel 44:20, “They shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long, but they shall keep their hair well-trimmed.” I was wondering: Was this a standard for the priests before this time or was this instituted later? I can’t seem to find it for the priests beforehand. But…
Read MoreShould I divorce my husband for gambling away our money?
Question: I really need advice. My husband will not stop gambling no matter what I say. He gambles every single penny we have. He gambles every single day if he has the money. He will not pay any bills and all the income he gets goes toward gambling. He even takes our son, who is…
Read MoreShould I have our child in his country or mine?
Question: Hello, I came across your website recently and I found the articles I read very helpful. I used to be a Christian, but in the last year or so I walked away from it. Honestly, I’m not sure how to start back in the situation I’m in. People are aware that I’m not involved in…
Read MoreCan you be a Christian and have your own personality?
Question: Hello! I am a Christian with a big question. I know you probably hear that a lot, but still: Is being yourself a sin? I’m not talking about being gay, I’m straight. I’m talking, can I have true blue faith in God and still have my own personality and traits? Like have certain hobbies…
Read MoreCould blasphemy of the Holy Spirit be an exception to the rule that God will forgive anyone who repents?
Question: Greetings, I have read some of your articles on the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit on your website and I know you don’t want to repeat the same topic over again, but I do have some questions about it if you don’t mind addressing them. I have held a similar conclusion as you in the past,…
Read MoreHow do I know if the thoughts I had are mine or from God?
Question: How do I know if the thoughts I had are mine or from God? How to know if God wants me to do something? Answer: “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except…
Read MoreIs repeating a false doctrine blasphemy?
Question: Dear Minister, When I was in college I took a Jewish mysticism course and the professor explained a theory about God to the class. The theory was basically that God had a very small portion of evil in Him and He despised that evil so He created humans and hell to purge the evil…
Read MoreHow can I teach when I am so unworthy?
Question: I am currently 21 years old. Every day I wake up and cannot get the sins I have committed in my past out of my head. They haunt me day in and day out. I want to get to know Christ better, but I feel like I can no longer be the Christian I…
Read MoreMy friends are not content with the church. What can I do?
Question: I read your questions and answers often, and find real, godly, and biblical solace in them. I trust your judgment and wanted to ask you several things. My family has been attending churches of Christ since before we are born, and I could not see myself anywhere else. I’m a teen in the youth…
Read MoreYour site was useful to me in preparing lessons for our ladies’ Bible class
Question: I just discovered your website while searching for information on Esau and Edomites. Our ladies’ Bible class is doing a study of the Bible called the Essence of Time in which we look at the Old Testament in 12 segments like a clock face to try and get a timeline of people, places, and…
Read MoreIs it right to pay a church secretary?
Question: I am a member of a large, conservative church of Christ. The one thing that bothers me is that we have a lady, who I love dearly, who has been the “church secretary” for many years and is being paid a salary. I can’t find where this is scriptural. The other congregations in our…
Read MoreHow did Cain go to another land and take a wife after being cast out of the Garden?
Question: When Cain was cast out of the Garden. How did he go to another land and take a wife? Adam and Eve did have more children but not until after Cain was cast out. Were there people here before Adam and Eve? Answer: You are making assumptions that are not in the text. Cain…
Read MoreWhat can I do to find joy in Christ?
Question: Hi, I’m a young, desperate man (I am 15 years old). In my country most people are Catholic. I hold Protestant views and even though my father visits the Catholic service, I go to the Protestant service on Sunday. Since I have been saved last fall, there is a lot of struggle going on…
Read MoreI’ve had oral sex with several girls, but I’m thinking of breaking up with my girlfriend because she is not a virgin
Question: My girlfriend is not a virgin. I’m a virgin but had oral sex with eight girls. Should I leave her? I need a Christian point of view on this unique situation. My girlfriend is 18 and I am 17. She repented and regretted having intercourse with her ex-boyfriend and wants to wait until marriage.…
Read MoreHow can I convince my mother that voodoo isn’t real?
Question: My mother has been calling a “spiritual adviser” for years now and it makes my sister and me very uncomfortable because we know very little to nothing about this adviser, though we jump to conclusions and assume this lady does voodoo. Even though we are not sure, my mother pays this lady 500 dollars…
Read MoreI really regret not being a virgin anymore
Question: I found your site a few weeks ago and quite frankly I wish I had come upon it sooner, especially regarding sexual purity. I was 18 when I “invited Jesus into my heart.” However, I was filled with lust, having no regard for fleeing sexual immorality. I didn’t seek to understand why God forbade…
Read MoreDo I have to be perfect to go to heaven?
Question: So in order to go to heaven, I must not commit sin or else have repented of all sins I have committed. But doesn’t this require perfect behavior and a perfect understanding of the Scriptures? Where is freedom and liberty in this? Where is there room for growth in this? How is this not…
Read MoreAm I denying the Holy Spirit by questioning whether my pastor speaks in tongues?
Question: Hi, I was just reading your page on speaking in tongues. I’m trying to find an answer to my problem. I have been attending a church for the first time for the last eight weeks or so. The first time I attended at the end we praised Jesus and the pastor spoke in tongues.…
Read MoreDid Peter have the Jews baptized to make a public statement?
Question: Reading online the transcript of a sermon by a man named John MacArthur in which he preached on Peter’s sermon at Pentecost and the reaction to it, I was a little surprised to see how flimsy the argument put forth was regarding the role of baptism in salvation. With no reference to any other Scripture and…
Read MoreI’ve listened to the entire Bible during my day
Question: I read your article on Reading the Bible Cover to Cover. Permit me to share that I love listening to my audio Bible and have covered 50 to 100 chapters a day. I have since gone through the Good Book eleven times. By late Wednesday, March 5th, I’ll complete my 12th time through as…
Read MoreDidn’t Jesus fulfill the Old Testament when he came in the flesh?
Question: I have a question: Didn’t Jesus fulfill the Old Testament when he came in the flesh? Answer: When Jesus was born, the Mosaic law was still in effect. He was circumcised and presented to God as the firstborn male of Mary and Joseph as the old law prescribed: “And when eight days had passed,…
Read MoreI didn’t realize the consequences of my adultery
Question: I want to first say that I’m a Christian according to the Bible, and belong to the local church. My husband and I both are Christians according to the Bible. In the past I’ve committed adultery and, even though I have been forgiven, sin had to be atoned for. What I thought was hidden…
Read More