Posts Tagged ‘doubts’
A Crisis of Faith?
by Orlando B. Gonzalez Perhaps you wonder whether we, as members of the “Churches of Christ”, are turning others away from Jesus by how we discuss people in other denominations, and how we talk about our practices as if they are the only right way to do things, thereby condemning those who do them differently.…
Read MoreAnchor Points
by Doy Moyer With so many reports of people losing their faith, we might wonder if there is anything to hold onto to anchor us down when we have doubts, questions, and deep concerns. We must not be dismissive of concerns, but allow the questions to be asked, never thinking that they are to be…
Read MoreThe Danger of Doubt
by Larry Rouse “If you were to die today, do you know where you will spend eternity?” This is a question that others have asked me and one that I have asked others. John wrote so that “you may know that you have eternal life” (I John 5:13). Men today fight this truth for various…
Read MoreA Social Media Warning from the Psalms
by Edwin Crozier I am not trying to establish a legalistic rule here. Rather, I want to caution you to think a little more deeply and thoroughly before you post. “If I had said, ‘I will speak thus,’ I would have betrayed the generation of your children” -Asaph, Psalm 73:15. Asaph recognizes the dangers of…
Read MoreThe Chains of the Past
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/The-Chains-of-the-Past.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Colossians 3:1-11 I. In Charles Dickens’ story “A Christmas Story,” Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his partner who is wear chains of cash boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds and heavy purses. When asked what the chains meant, “I wear the chain I forged in life,” replied the…
Read MoreDoubts
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Doubts.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Jeremiah 17:5-8 I. I had the opportunity to study with a member of the International Church of Christ. A. Many of their core beliefs are similar to our own, but they diverge from the plain teachings of the Scriptures in a number of significant ways. B. While researching their beliefs and…
Read MoreI suffer from mental illness. Was my baptism legitimate?
Question: Much love to the Brethren at La Vista and to you brother. You heard from me a few years ago. My situation is much better than before, but I still have struggles and questions. I suffer from Autism, SchizoAffective, and BiPolar Type 2. Recently, I was rebaptized as I felt like it was needed…
Read MoreI’m having doubts about my baptism
Question: Hello, I hope you are well. I have a question about baptism. When I was 13, I was baptized into Christ. However, I later realized I had only done it out of pressure. I was baptized into Christ when I was 19. Not long after, I began to have doubts as to if I…
Read MoreJust as I Am
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/JustAsIAm.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalm 51 I. “Just as I am! Without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me, and that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee, Oh Lamb of God, I come! I come!” A. When each of us come to Christ, we have no argument to offer that we deserve…
Read MoreYour answer against a person questioning his core belief was inappropriate
Question: I’m not sure if you’re the person I’m supposed to send this to, but your email was at the bottom of the page. I’m a member of the church and in regards to one of the Questions and Answer posts on the La Vista Church of Christ website, the response to one of the…
Read MoreI don’t think I have sufficient faith
Question: Hello Brother, I came across your website over a year ago and have found it to be sound and very helpful. I am a member of the body of Christ, the church of Christ. I am 21 years old and have been a Christian for many years and have seen how the gospel of…
Read MoreOverconfidence and Doubt
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/OverconfidenceAndDoubt.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 14:22-23 I. Several correspondence that I have had contained similar questions: A. A woman who engaged in acts in the past that she knew were wrong said, “I have asked God for forgiveness and am trying to further my relationship with him, but I don’t feel I deserve to…
Read MoreDealing with Doubt
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/DealingWithDoubt.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: John 20:19-31 I. Is it wrong to have doubts? When those moments come when you wonder if God really exists or you run across an idea that makes you wonder if you really understood the Bible correctly, have you sinned? A. Look at characters in the Old Testament and we…
Read MoreLiving with Unanswered Questions
by Doy Moyer Most of us would likely agree with the idea that the older we get, the more we realize we don’t know. The vastness of the universe, the complexity of people, and the general recognition that we just don’t have all the answers lead us to realize the need to be humble. We…
Read MoreDo you think that everything you believe is right?
Question: I have two questions. First off, which version of the Bible do you use and why? Secondly, I am going to tread carefully here so as not to offend you and I mean no offense in asking this but, do you think that everything, every doctrine you believe is right? I think that there…
Read MoreI’ve been baptized three times, but I’m not certain I’m saved
Question: Hi, I am a male in my thirties. For about fifteen years I have been struggling with thoughts about my baptism. Thoughts go through my head practically every day. I have questions constantly running through my mind that cause me to feel anxious and fearful of God’s judgment, all because I keep questioning if my…
Read MoreBecause I doubted, do I need to be baptized again?
Question: I’ve been having quite a lot of problems with doubt and worry lately. The other night I was in quite a doubt-filled, depressed mood, and I think I slipped into a period of not believing in Christ. Whether it was a minute, an hour, or five hours, I do not know for I soon…
Read MoreI’m having trouble not doing things I am unsure about
Question: I am having trouble not doing things that I am unsure about whether or not they are sinful, such as drinking soda, eating sweets, masturbation, and whether or not I should be playing certain card and video games. On the soda and sweets, I am wondering if I am harming my body by doing…
Read MoreCan fear be a sin?
Question: I am trying to change my ways and live a better Christian lifestyle (a life more pleasing to the Lord). I know temptation will always be hounding me, but I know the Lord will provide me a way out. However, I want to know if fear can be considered a temptation? Like the fear…
Read MoreHow do you handle questions you can’t understand? Does it cause you to doubt that God exists?
Question: Have you ever doubted if God really exists? Have you ever been bothered about Eve coming from Adam’s rib or the apes theory? Or just anything science comes up with? Because I have. I don’t know how to get rid of it because I honestly don’t want to be an atheist. I think my Bible…
Read MoreDoes faith mean you never doubt?
Question: Does faith mean that you’ll never ever doubt something? I’ve been sad lately because there are things in the Bible that I don’t understand and these things have caused me to doubt Jesus. But when I doubted, I get sad because I think, “I’m not saved because I’m not believing in Jesus.” But then…
Read MoreI don’t think I understood what I was confessing well enough before my baptism. So am I saved?
Question: I am wondering if I am saved. I was baptized in a Church of Christ and since learning more about it I have questions. First I don’t think I understood the confession part. I thought it was confessing to God that you are a sinner and in need of salvation. Then I recently heard…
Read MoreHow do I deal with my insecurities?
Question: How would I go about understanding my insecurities and work on eliminating them or coming to terms with them? I realize that my insecurities negatively affect every relationship that I am currently in and ones that I have lost because of my issues. I don’t want to continue to carry them around with me…
Read MoreIf He is Wrong, What Does the Christian Miss?
by Ancil Jenkins Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash Doubt is a subtle demon. It creeps in at times of distress, pain, and fear. Doubting is not sinful; failing to act on doubts is. Honesty demands an examination and a resolution of doubts. As one examines doubts, his heart is comforted. The truth will silence doubts or will…
Read MoreDoubting Your Salvation
by Clem Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 58, No. 8, Feb. 20, 2009. QUESTION: Would you please explain I John 3:20,21? ANSWER: John wrote: “Because if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemns us not, we have boldness toward God” (I John 3:20,21).…
Read MoreWhy did John doubt?
Question: In Matthew 3:13-17, John the Baptist meets Jesus and is resistant to baptizing him because he “seemed” to know that he was the Messiah and he thought that Jesus should baptize him instead. Did John see the clouds open up and hear God’s voice? Later, in Matthew 11:2-6, when he was in prison he…
Read MoreWhat is God’s Will for Me? Part 4: Dealing with Uncertainty
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/What-Is-Gods-Will-for-Me-5-Dealing-with-Uncertainty.mp3 Text: Proverbs 3:1-18 I. While God has given us guidelines wherein to make decisions, He does not make decisions for us A. We are required to choose whether to follow God’s guidance or not B. We are expected to make choices even between two paths of morally correct decisions C. I can compare my decisions against the…
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 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 MoreWhen does repentance take place?
Question: I once doubted the death, burial, and resurrection part of my baptism. I have cleared my conscience on that part. I came to realize that I knew what I was doing on that part. For some reason, I have started doubting my repentance before baptism. I knew before I was immersed that I had…
Read MoreHow do you not doubt that God exists?
Question: I do not mean this in any sort of sacrilegious way, but – here it is – how do you know God exists? Maybe this life is all there is. How do you know otherwise? Now, let me say I am not a stranger to Christianity. When I was in college, I used to hang out…
Read MoreI’m beginning to doubt my baptism, whether I really understood that I was to die to sin. Should I be rebaptized?
Question: I have heard of many people who have questioned their salvation because they didn’t know a particular scripture at the time. I have learned through the years that there will always be something you don’t know at the time of your baptism. A person does not need to know every single scripture in order…
Read MoreI stopped many of my bad habits, but I’m still plagued by doubts. What do I do?
Question: I had a friend die recently last weekend, and this caused me to really think about what am I doing with my life. Out of curiosity and interest I researched near-death experiences, which I believed some of them to be true. I read about people seeing hell and realizing how horrible it is for…
Read MoreI keep questioning my beliefs. Does that mean I’m no longer saved?
Question: I need help in reconciling what I have always been taught and what I am being taught now. I was baptized a few years ago in the church and at the time I did truly believe that it was necessary, since then I begin to question whether it was necessary and I question many…
Read MoreI’m not certain if we are ready to raise children
Question: I have just spent some time reviewing your site and it is incredible. I am having some issues right now and was hoping you could help me, not sure where to turn because I don’t want anyone in my church to think horribly of me. Anyway, here goes. My husband and I met six…
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