God wouldn’t put unnecessary restrictions on people

Question: Homophobia is such a joke. God, if He exists, wouldn’t put unnecessary restrictions on His people. Can you really imagine your ever-loving, ever-forgiving God being that petty? This is pathetic. Answer: It is interesting that you assume that anyone who disagrees with you does so without reason and only because of a “fear” that…

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Why is it so bad to disobey God?

Question: Hi, I have a question. I know sin means to disobey God or to break His law, but I was wondering, why is it so bad to disobey Him? And why was it so bad that Adam and Eve decided to disobey God? Couldn’t God have let it go and let them do what…

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Is it by grace or by law?

Question: My concern is to avoid a polluted and compromised gospel that turns people away from Christ or worse, inoculates them against the true gospel with cheap grace.  Your letter most likely triggered a reaction in me because I am right now driven to seek God for answers about some disturbing things around me in church…

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Jesus’ Relation to the Law of Moses

Matthew 5:17-20 by Bobby Graham When Jesus was teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, was he merely explaining the Law to bring the Jews into closer alignment with God’s will, or was he setting forth principles that would operate in the coming kingdom?  It is understood that there was already a kingdom operating, from…

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Are Non-Christians Subject to the Laws of God?

Text: II Thessalonians 1:3-10   I.         Without a doubt people make a mess of their lives             A.        One of the hardest things about studying with people these days is the tangle they create in their families                         1.         You have people who have married and divorced serval times                         2.         They have kids by multiple partners, some to whom they never…

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The Importance of Covenants – Part II

The Importance of Covenants – Part 3The Importance of Covenants – Part 4 Text: Jeremiah 31:31-34   I.         Covenants play a major role throughout the Scriptures.             A.        These are not promises, such as to be somewhere next week. Nor are they just solemn oaths.             B.        Covenants create a binding relationship between people, much like a treaty. II.        Parts of…

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The Law and the Gospel

by M. W. Kiser via, The Sower, Vol. 53, No. 5, Sept/Oct. 2008. “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they…

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How could there be sin before Moses when there was no law?

Question: I need to understand Noah’s history. It says in Genesis 6:9 that Noah was a just man; that he walked with God. But what does it mean by “just?” I mean, there wasn’t a law at the time, Moses didn’t exist. The same about Cain killing Abel. God told him to do good when…

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What was the flaw in the Old Covenant?

Question: Is the flaw of the Old Covenant (Hebrews 8:7) that there was no way for sins to be completely forgiven (Hebrews 10:1-10)? Or was the law impossible to completely follow as well? If it was possible to completely follow, then what is Peter talking about in Acts 15:10 and what is the meaning of…

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The Law and the Gospel

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/LawAndTheGospel.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Timothy 1:1-11   I.         I have frequent encounters with people who do not distinguish between the Old Testament and the New Testament             A.        None want to fully return to the Mosaical covenant, but each wants some feature found in the Old Testament to be binding on Christians             B.        Popular features seem…

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Emphasizing the Physical

Text: Matthew 12:1-14   I.         Schools have been placed in tough positions in the recent years             A.        They are told to keep religion out of schools. Almost every direct form of discipline has been forbidden to them.                         1.         The natural result is the steady decline in the moral standards of their students.                         2.         In response the community demands the…

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Why is Romans 5:13 in parenthesis in the King James Version?

Question: This came up recently: Romans 5:13 is in parenthesis in the King James version. Could you please explain why? Answer: The parenthesis was added by the translators, both in the King James and New King James versions, to emphasize that this is explaining the charge made in Romans 5:12. Paul stated, “Therefore, just as…

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A Change in Law

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/ChangeInLaw.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Hebrews 8:7-13   I.         Among those calling themselves Christian, many have a difficult time understanding the place the Old Testament has in God’s scheme of redemption             A.        A few cling to the laws regarding the Sabbath and so modify the New Testament teaching of worship on the first day of the…

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How can there be no condemnation if Christians can sin?

Question: I’ve been trying to fit Romans 8:1 and I John 1:7-10. We know that if we walk in the light then we can ask for the forgiveness of our sins and they are cleansed. How does Romans 8:1 come into play?  If we sin, we are separated from God. If we die in our…

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Love or Legalism?

by Steven F. Deaton When we insist men must adhere strictly to the commandments of God, is it love or legalism? Men say it is legalism. They say, “We should obey a Savior, not a system.” Or, “Give me the man, not a plan.” Their idea is that to admit the existence of a law…

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Freedom Through God’s Law

by Charles N. Spence, Jr. God had always wanted His people to be free. However, most people today have a radically different idea of freedom than God’s. Many in the world today look at freedom as the uninhibited right to do what they want to do. We can see this in almost every facet of…

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Is driving over the speed limit sinful?

Question: Is driving over the speed limit for any reason sinful? What if someone says that they can drive over the speed limit if it helps them to get to worship service on time. Or what if there’s an emergency and someone needs to speed to the hospital? I see that Romans 13 tells us…

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Does the concept of right and wrong come from the nature of God?

Question: From past study, I have come to the conclusion that that morality, right and wrong, are bound up in the nature of God himself. Things are not right or wrong “just because God said so,” – that is, God does not arbitrarily declare a thing to be wrong that would otherwise be permissible, nor…

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How could a good God allow sex to exist in the world?

Question: How could a good God allow sex to exist in the world? Answer: Your question implies that “sex” is oppositional to “good.” Just because man has found ways to corrupt the use of sex does not imply that sex is without a righteous purpose. See “Why is sex a sin?” for an earlier response…

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Does a change in the Law mean God changes His mind a lot?

Question: Since God changed His Law, then apparently God changes His mind a lot. Answer: Actually God planned the change all along. The Law of Moses defined sin and bound it to mankind, but it could not in itself save. It spoke only of future salvation. “For the law made nothing perfect; on the other…

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Why did God put the tree in the garden if He knew man would sin?

Question: “Why Does God Allow Evil?” was a great explanation about why sin exists in the world, I enjoyed reading it and it has been a helpful tool when people ask me about sin and why God allows it to happen. I would like to ask you a question about the tree of knowledge that…

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The Gospels and the Covenants

by Roger Blackwelder It has been observed that the traditional divisions we use to describe the Bible are inaccurate. Genesis through Malachi are called the Old Testament or Old Covenant. Matthew through Revelation are called the New Testament or New Covenant. The titles are problematic for at least two reasons: 1) The covenant between God…

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What is the law in Romans 7?

Question: I would like to ask what is the “law” which Paul was referring to in Romans 7:14-25. Thank you. Answer: The Bible speaks of many different types of laws, so we need to examine the context to see what law is being discussed. Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those…

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Why did God put the forbidden tree in the garden?

Question: I have a couple of doubts and am hoping to get an answer from you. Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the forbidden tree, which was a sin. Why did God has created that tree? If there is no tree, then there would have been no sin. Why do the innocent suffer? Answer:…

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The Reason For Regulations

by Stephen Harper Years ago, when I was in college, I had an assignment to write a formal paper on some aspect of how government regulations affected society. The paper could be on just about anything, so since I was interested in the automobile industry, I decided to write about how safety regulations had affected…

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Legalism: The Un-Sin

by Steve Klein Since the church began, the devil has concocted any number of diabolical schemes to ensnare God’s people. One of his most successful gambits has been the invention of the pseudo-sin commonly called legalism. More people consider legalism to be a sin than consider 7-UP to be a cola, but they are all…

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Why can’t we be free like the wind?

Question: Last month I watched a movie, I just forgot if it’s Chinese or Japanese movie, basically, it tells a story about an orphan girl was adopted by an ex-swordman, who raised other nine little kids along with her to prepare for a mission when they grow up — wipe out three warlords to bring…

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Does God put more weight on moral law and less on ceremonial law?

Question: Thanks for taking the time to reply.  Sorry about my first email; I know it was a bit full-on and probably not in the best tone.  I grew up in churches of Christ and sometimes find it hard to understand the logic and get frustrated, bitter, etc.  Your position makes sense to me and is…

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Married to Christ

by Keith Sharp The theme of Romans is the gospel, God’s power to save all who believe (Romans 1:16-17). This is equivalent to saying we are justified by faith apart from the law (Romans 3:20-31). The law that is no part of our justification is the law given through Moses to Israel (Romans 2:12-27; 3:21).…

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The “Law” in Christ

by Robert F. Turner When Martin Luther sought to counter the Roman Catholics’ over-emphasis on “works” for salvation, he adopted such an emphasis on “grace” that his followers practically lost sight of the necessity for obedience. And the pendulum continues to swing! Judging by public prayers and careless statements made in articles and sermons some…

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Where do I find a list of God’s laws in the Bible?

Question: Where in the Bible do I find a clear list of God’s law? Answer: You are expecting something from God’s word that it is not. The Bible is not a reference book where you can look under the topic “Law” and find everything you need to know, nor is it a set of statutes…

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