Parables on the Second Coming of Christ

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Parables-on-the-Second-Coming-of-Christ.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Thessalonians 5:1-11   I.         The early disciples longed for the return of Christ             A.        I Corinthians 16:19-24 – The term “maranatha” is a transliteration of the Greek, which was in turn transliterated from two Aramaic words. It literally means, “Our Lord come!”             B.        II Peter 3:10-12 – Looking for and hastening…

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Can we really return after backsliding?

Question: Hello, I was reading your articles. Thank you. I will get straight to my questions: If we live life wrong after knowing the truth, can we sincerely stop and replant our seed in good ground and not be choked by the weeds again? What if we are worried that we are a tare and…

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Is Salvation Assured?

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/IsSalvationAssured.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I John 2:15-25   I.         During the Reformation, a man named John Calvin came up with a system of belief that has impacted a large portion of the denominational world.             A.        The ideas were not original with Calvin. He based his work on many that preceded him.             B.        What Calvin did was…

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Could you explain Hebrews 10:26-28?

Question: Could you explain Hebrews 10:26-28? Answer: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another,…

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There’s No Security for the Believer in ‘Once Saved, Always Saved’

by Al Diestelkamp via Think on These Things, Volume 41, No. 1, Jan-Mar 2010 There is a belief in many Protestant churches, and especially popular among those who would describe themselves as “evangelicals,” known as the doctrine of “The Security of the Believer.” In Calvinism’s TULIP acronym, it is represented by the “P” for “Perseverance of…

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How do I know if I have fallen from grace?

Question: What does it mean to fall from the grace? I’ve doubted Jesus so many times, I’m scared I’ve fallen. I pray to God to forgive me and ask Him to never let me go, never let me take my eyes off Christ or I’ll be lost. How do I know I haven’t fallen? Answer:…

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Can you explain what “if we sin willfully” in Hebrews 10:26 means?

Question: I am confused at what I am reading in Hebrews 10:26-27: “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries” (ESV). I am confused because I know…

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Why did Paul say he handed over Hymenaeus and Alexander to Satan?

Question: I just read your online article about Hymenaeus and Alexander shipwrecking their faith (I Timothy 1:20). Good thoughts. What’s your opinion of Paul’s statement that he had turned these guys “over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme”? Answer: “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning…

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Religious Bargain Hunting

Text: II Peter 2:1-3   I.         There are few of us who don’t like a good bargain when we can get one.             A.        There are some here who will look high-and-low for the best deal, whether it be groceries or a used car.             B.        Of course, some people don’t seem to have a clue as to what truly…

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How is it possible to fall from grace if you can’t lose your salvation?

Question: I have visited your web site and couldn’t find the answer I was looking for. There is one verse in particular which I have a hard time reconciling with the rest of Scripture. I know that you can’t lose your salvation (John 10:27-29), but how is it possible to “fall” from grace? There are…

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I believe that once we are saved, nothing can cause us to lose our salvation

Question: Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 1:13-14 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,…

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I do not believe you can lose your salvation

Question: Well I do not believe you can lose salvation. There is too much teaching of it being eternal and If we could lose it that means we can also keep it right? If we can keep it that means it has something to do with us and not just of God. There is a…

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Can I lose my way to heaven?

Question: Can I lose my way to heaven? Answer: Obviously, Paul thought that it was possible. “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have…

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