Posts Tagged ‘faith’
I’m beginning to doubt the things I’ve been taught most of my life, and I’m afraid of losing my faith in God
Question: I have something I would like your opinion on. I was part of a church called the Shepherd’s Chapel from the time I was 13. Their ideas run parallel to some of the ideas of the Nazis and the Christian Identity Movement. My mind has been opened to the idea of entertaining these thoughts…
Read MoreHow can you distinguish between the real and the make-believe?
Question: Alright, how do we know that religion, in general, is not just our mind playing tricks on us? This has been bothering me badly now. I didn’t know if you had an answer or not. For example, I had terrible anxiety problems. I was convinced that my house was haunted. I started hearing things…
Read MoreHow can I know that I’m serving God?
Question: OK, simple question: I want to know what I can do to just serve God and know it’s Him I’m serving. Answer: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing,…
Read MoreI have pure OCD with uncontrollable thoughts. How can I keep my faith?
Question: I found your website because I have POCD (uncontrollable thoughts). I was searching the web and came across your site. My POCD was really bad. I thought I was crazy for a long time until after three years I found out the name for what I was feeling. However, the new thing that has…
Read MoreSamson
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Samson.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Hebrews 11:32-40 I. Heb 11:32-34 A. Many wonder why Samson is listed among these greats. B. True, his great strength was a wonder, but his life was not one many of us would want to imitate. C. How is it that Samson, with his many sins, has come to be listed with greats…
Read MoreNotes on the Message Preached
The Faith General References Acts 6:7 Acts 13:8 Acts 14:22 Acts 16:5 I Corinthians 16:13 Galatians 3:23 Ephesians 4:13 Colossians 1:23 Colossians 2:7 I Timothy 1:2 I Timothy 3:13 I Timothy 4:1 I Timothy 5:8 I Timothy 6:10,12 Titus 1:2, Titus 1:13 Titus 3:15 I Peter 5:9 Jude 3 Word of Faith Romans 10:8 One…
Read MoreHow can I be sure that the Bible is fully correct?
Question: I’m a teenager wanting to know the truth, so please help me out. How can I be sure that the Bible is fully correct? I mean people must have added or taken out scriptures to try to confuse us. How can I know what religion is correct? I know I have to have faith,…
Read MoreShould it be “the faith” in Ephesians 2:8?
Question: Hi, I have been reading on your website and find it very informative. Just wanted to share a few things. I have been comparing various Bible translations. And of course, I see there are problems with many of them. I bought a very interesting Bible named the “The Everlasting Gospel” by Hugo McCord, Th.D.…
Read MoreHow can righteousness be apart from works when faith is a work?
Question: “Just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin”” (Romans 4:6-8). “Then they said to him, “What must…
Read MoreIs faith a work that God does to a person?
Question: Recently someone told me that they believed that the work of God in John 6:29 means that God makes a person believe. I assume they think the Holy Spirit works in a person making them believe. I know that faith comes from hearing the Word of God but would like to know if there…
Read MoreWhy can’t I have faith?
Question: I would like to ask you what you think is wrong with me. I know you’re handcuffed a bit by strictly email, but you seem to get a feel for people, so I’ll describe where I am in life and I’ll ask you why do you think I’m this way. It seems like no…
Read MoreWhat Saves a Person?
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Since, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (II Peter 3:9), it would be sensible to understand that in order to get people saved, God would tell them…
Read MoreWhat Must I Do to be Saved? (Hamilton)
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Listening to preachers, pastors, and priests today, one wonders if they could answer the question, “What must I do to be saved?” in a manner similar to the apostles. What Must I Do to be Saved? In the very first sermon recorded, Peter convicted the Jews of participating in the death of…
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 MoreWhy Believe in God?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/WhyBelieveInGod.mp3 by Bruce Irwin
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 MoreThe Author of Our Faith
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/AuthorOfOurFaith.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Hebrews 12:1-3 I. In translating from one language to another, some words just don’t fit easily. Some words have multiple possible meanings in another language and figuring out which one of the various possible translations is hard. A. Harder are the words which have multiple meanings in another language, and…
Read MoreWho must we believe in to go to heaven, God or Jesus?
Question: Who must we believe in to go to heaven, God or Jesus? Answer: The answer is both. You cannot believe in one without believing in the other. “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You,…
Read MoreWhat is Faith?
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/WhatIsFaith.mp3 Text: Hebrews 11:1-6 I. Imagine a tight rope stretched across Niagara Falls. A crowd gathers around a man who pulls a unicycle out of a box. “Ladies and gentlemen,” the man announces, “may I have your attention! In my hands is a unicycle. How many of you believe that I can ride this unicycle…
Read MoreIs Paul saying that only if we don’t work, then God will make us righteous?
Question: Is Paul saying in Romans 4:4-5 that only if we don’t work then God will make us righteous? Answer: “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for…
Read MoreIs masturbation a sin and can God give me a sign to increase my faith?
Question: Hi. I am 12 and I just wanted to know if masturbation is a sin. I’ve researched it on Google and it said it was, so I stopped for a while, then I did it again and I still am. I also have another problem. I believe in God and heaven but I just…
Read MoreRelying on God
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/RelyingOnGod.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. The afternoon news and talk show featured a short debate over a recent story. The parents of eleven children had two of their children die. One died from untreated diabetes. The other died from complications of an untreated ear infection. The parents believed firmly in the power of prayer and…
Read MoreWas faith an absolute requirement for Jesus’ healing people?
Question: Was faith the absolute requirement for Jesus’ healing people? Answer: “Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to…
Read MoreHow are faith and prayer related?
Question: How are faith and prayer related? Answer: Prayer is a form of worship to God where we bring our requests to Him along with our praise and our thanksgivings. But what use would it be to ask God for a favor while at the same time having no confidence that He will give you…
Read MoreHow do you answer someone who doesn’t believe the Bible?
Question: Greetings Brother. I pray the Lord continues to bless you and the works you have undertaken. A month or two ago I posed a biblical question on a forum that quickly turned into a small argument over the Bible’s validity with another individual. I have known him to be an extreme liberal and unbeliever.…
Read MoreIs it a sin to change what I believe?
Question: Is it a sin to change what I believe? Or what if I am just neutral? Answer: Growth means you are going to change your mind about things. “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may…
Read MoreHow can I know the God of the Bible isn’t a myth?
Question: How do I know that believing in God is the right thing to do? How do I know that the Bible isn’t something that is made for mankind to get by through life without worrying as much as non-believers do? I don’t know what to think about God and life and death. Just the…
Read MoreWill faith and hope still exist in heaven?
Question: I have a question from I Corinthians 13 about faith, hope, and love with the greatest of these being love. I have led public prayers in which I prayed something like this “to bless us with faith, hope, and love. For one day we will close our eyes in this world and sleep, but…
Read MoreGod Is Able
by David Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 58, No. 12, March 20, 2009. Times are hard right now. The economy is in a major recession, with no end in sight as I write this. Many people are facing factory layoffs. Many are looking at foreclosures and still others are thinking of bankruptcy. Maybe you are not…
Read MoreHow can I believe the Bible when science has proven it wrong?
Question: That was an interesting article about the possible age of the earth. I am a Christian, but I still need some answers so I can feel comfortable about where I stand. So, if I understand it correctly, there is scientifically proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, undeniable truth that the earth is much, much…
Read MoreEmpty Faith
by Carey Scott “My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don’t do anything to show that you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith save you?” (James 2:14, CEV). There are a lot of people going around and calling themselves a Christians. Yet their actions do not…
Read MoreExceedingly Abundantly
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/ExceedingAbundantly2.mp3 by Simon Harris God, please use Kelsey to bring glory to your Name. We know the odds are against us, but we trust in You. Please use our daughter as a living example of Your power to heal, that all may glorify You as the Great God of Heaven. That was my prayer when…
Read MoreI’m still confused as to what love is. Is it a feeling, an action, or both?
Question: I was reading over the email you sent me a while back and I understand what love is but at the same time, I don’t. I know what is but I feel it’s hard to explain. Love is like faith, it isn’t an action but without action, it is basically dead. I can show someone…
Read MoreJohn 6:26-59
by Dale Smelser There are several keys to understanding this passage. One is John 6:48 where Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” Then John 6:50, “This is the bread of life which comes down out of heaven that a man might eat and live.” As we will note, the consideration of actual baked…
Read MoreI’ve fallen back into pornography, how can I be confident that when I repent I’ll still go to heaven?
Question: Hi. I was once a member of the Lord’s church. I say “was” because since getting baptized last year, I was so dedicated and love the Lord, but it was so soon after that I got trapped and went back to my wallowing in sin! i.e. pornography and masturbation. Even after I was married,…
Read MoreTrusting God When Afraid
by Wayne S. Walker “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You” (Psalm 56:3). Jesus told us, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). The fact is that “God has…
Read MoreHow do you answer a teacher who claims religion is not based on evidence?
Question: How would you answer a professor who claims that religion and faith are not based on evidence, but rather they are based on what people “want” in life, contrary to scientific evidence and that what is considered scientific has to be “peer-reviewed”? To me it seems that my professor is operating on the assumption…
Read MoreThe Armor of God
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ArmorOfGod.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 6:10-18 Rome was the mighty governing power in the days the New Testament was written. Its strength was in its military, which constantly was on guard Josephus, a Jewish historian, observed that Roman soldiers always carried their weapons with them, even in times of peace. “Every soldier is…
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 MoreHow can faith be combined with works?
Question: I have been reading articles on this web site, especially the one about how salvation comes both from believing and works. My question is this: Did Paul lie to the prison guard when he said: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved”? I am having difficulty with the combination of…
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