Posts Tagged ‘salvation’
There Is Freedom
by Kent Heaton Freedom is a precious stone shared by a few and made precious by only those who understand its worth. Living in a land of freedom does not make us free. The heart is only free when one realizes the cost of liberty. Being free recognizes the darkness of bondage embraced by the…
Read MoreDo we die to sin at the point of repentance?
Question: After viewing your web site, my brother and I saw the graphic on the gospel re-enacted. I appreciate the way it is laid out. I am attaching a similar graphic that is being taught in this area and in many other areas also. In this graphic, it is taught that in baptism we repent of…
Read MoreDid Jesus die only for the saved?
Question: Can you tell me what exactly our Lord meant when he said in John 10:15 about laying down his life for the sheep? Was that exclusively for the sheep and not the goats, as the Reformed Christians believe? Some Calvinistic doctrine rings true to me. I have some of their literature and preaching tapes…
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 MoreI’ve accepted Jesus so many times! How can I be sure that Christ lives in me?
Question: How do I surely know that Christ lives in me? Because every time that I’m at my church and they ask who wants to receive Christ, I always feel something in my heart. But I’ve accepted Jesus so many times! Almost every Sunday I pray: “Lord I don’t know if you really live in me,…
Read MoreI applaud you on making the Bible’s teaching on salvation clear
Question: Just wanted to drop a note and applaud you on your web site for making it clear to people that the Bible is very plain about salvation. Baptism is not a very tough subject, but false teachers make it that way. I just wish people would understand the difference in the works of merit…
Read MoreDid Cornelius need to work before or after his salvation?
Question: Hello, I just wanted to say thank you for the sermons you provide online. I actually came across your web site this evening as I was searching for resources on Cornelius and his salvation, as I think his life greatly parallels many in today’s culture. I do have an inquiry from the 15th paragraph, which…
Read MoreDid an Israelite have to be born again under the Old Law?
Question: I have two questions: Did the Old Testament believers’ experience being “born again” or “regeneration” as experienced with the New Testament believers through Jesus Christ? Are born again believers still considered to be “sinners” or “saints” and why? Answer: There are several passages that use the allegory of birth to explain the change that…
Read MoreMust you be baptized even after saying the prayer of salvation?
Question: I was wandering if you had to be baptized, even after saying the prayer of salvation to be completely saved. Answer: Just one small problem — there is no mention of salvation coming through prayer in the Bible. To claim to be saved by saying a prayer, then, is to make up your own…
Read MoreTen Commandments
by Carl A. Allen In a home Bible class, I was told, “All you have to do, to be saved, is to keep the Ten Commandments!” I looked at the lady and said, “You do not believe that.” She responded, “Yes I do!” I posed a question, “Must one believe in Jesus to be saved?”…
Read MoreIf the Righteous Scarcely Be Saved …
by George Hutto “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let…
Read MoreCan We Trust Our Feelings About Salvation?
by Mike Johnson via simplebiblestudies.com Some people claim to rely solely on their feelings for assurance of personal salvation. They may say, “I know that I am saved because I feel that I am.” They will often ignore very plain passages in the Bible about salvation because of a “feeling” that they have. Some are heard…
Read MoreBorn Again Into The Kingdom
by H.E. Phillips via Searching the Scriptures, February 1992, Volume 33, Number 2 The church is the people who are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (I Peter 2:9). The…
Read MoreIs there any hope for me?
Question: I went through your article, “A Sin Leading to Death.” Like so many other articles on the sin that leads to death and apostasy, there seems to be no final consensus on what are these sins, what are their consequences, and the chances of reversing these consequences. So the article held some hope for…
Read MoreI’ve done so much wrong, I fear it is too late for me
Question: Thank you so much for your web site. The analogy of the young soldier being afraid to die and the old man being afraid to live was very touching to me. I myself am an agnostic, but then I have a tremendous fear of God, so perhaps this is telling me I do believe in God…
Read MoreDoesn’t the Bible teach that you can be saved without baptism?
Question: I read your article, “Why I Am Not a Nazarene,” as I have been researching the Wesleyan Nazarenes and was considering attending there as a member but I am having doubts. However, I read your article and where it says “No one is saved without being baptized with water” is not biblical. One is saved by faith in…
Read MoreAssurance of Our Salvation
by Bryan Sharp “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that…
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 MoreThe Bible Puts Baptism Between the Sinner and His Salvation!
by Dillard Thurman in Gospel Minutes, December 26, 1958, Reprinted in Gospel Minutes, Vol. 57, No. 16, April 18, 2008. I am not responsible for the place baptism occupies in God’s plan of salvation. Nor was I consulted in the matter. Had the Lord taken the matter up with me, I suppose I would have…
Read MoreDoes it matter how you are baptized?
Question: I get confused about baptism. I believe a person should be baptized by immersion. Some feel the mode does not matter – just as long as you get baptized. I have attended a Baptist church that says baptism does not save you – that the thief on the cross next to Jesus was saved…
Read MorePraying a Sinner’s Prayer
by Jarrod Jacobs via “Common Questions — Bible Answers” (Southside church of Christ, Owensboro, Kentucky) A while back, I received a sample packet of tracts from “The Tract League” (a.k.a. “Faith, Prayer, & Tract League”) out of Grand Rapids, MI. According to their form letter addressed to the “Pastor,” they have over 300 tracts in…
Read MoreThe Sinner’s Prayer
by Bob Myhan The so-called sinner’s prayer is the prayer of an alien sinner for the forgiveness of sins. An alien sinner is one who has never been saved and is not yet a citizen in the kingdom of God. The sinner’s prayer has had many incarnations over the years but it usually goes something…
Read MoreWhat is the “free gift?”
Question: I’m having a little trouble with this passage and hope you can shed some light on it for me. Romans 5:12-21 talks about a “free gift”. What is it? Who brought it? What does it do for us? Answer: “But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s…
Read MorePlease help me understand I Peter 4:17-18
Question: Please help me understand I Peter 4:17-18. Answer: “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come…
Read MoreWho are the elect in the Bible?
Question: Who are the “elect” the Bible talks about? Answer: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled…
Read MoreDo you believe you can only be saved by immersion in water? What about someone who can’t be immersed?
Question: How does one get saved who cannot physically be submerged? I didn’t look up your references, but is seems to me (by skimming through your article of why you left the Church of the Nazarene) that the main reason you left is you believe you are saved by baptism by submersion only? Am I…
Read MoreWhy didn’t you say that the girl who was living with her boyfriend could be forgiven of her sins?
Question: I just read over your response to a girl who lives with her boyfriend and she asked why you called it a sin. You gave her reasons, but then you listed reasons for her to consider. The second heading was “It Can Keep You Out of Heaven.” If you are preaching the truth as you…
Read MoreWhy the first holy communion?
Question: Why the first holy communion? What is confirmation after the first holy communion? Answer: The “first communion” is the name Roman Catholics give to the first time a person partakes of the eucharist. “Confirmation” is also a Roman Catholic term for teaching someone how to be a Roman Catholic. Neither phrase is found in…
Read MoreThe Invited
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/TheInvited.mp3 by Garry Floyd
Read MoreHow do I get a love for God?
Question: Hi! How do I get a love for God? The Bible says I need to love Him with all my heart and soul, but I only feel fear of the eternal consequences that come if I’m not obedient. I know the Bible says God is love, but I’m having a hard time with that…
Read MoreWhen is one saved?
Question: When is one save? Is he saved after he confesses that Jesus is the son of God? Or is he save after he is baptized? What saves Him? And are there supporting Bible verses for such questions? Answer: Since, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering…
Read MoreDoes sinning or being tempted to sin mean you aren’t really saved?
Question: I was reading a page on your web site that said if you give in to sexual desires, even just once, Satan can more easily bring you in and cause you to go further and further into sin until he has you trapped. This is only true for those who are lost. A child of God…
Read MoreShould I stay with a church that isn’t great but appears to be growing?
Question: Is it OK to stay with a church if you see God changing it and you yourself are helping that change? I was just wondering. There are a lot of downfalls at my church, but things have been looking better, not always just there. It is starting to get out of the state of…
Read MoreObeying the Lord
by Clem Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 58, No. 8, Feb. 20, 2009. Question: How can one talk about “obeying the Lord” in the light of what is said in Titus 3:5 and Ephesians 2:8? Answer: First, let us notice what these two passages say: “Not by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to…
Read MoreIsn’t saying you must be baptized limiting the power of God?
Question: I am sorry you feel the way you do about the Church of the Nazarene, but more so about your hard-lined stance about baptism. By saying “No one is saved without being baptized in water” you immediately limit the limitless God. You are saying that God cannot save anyone on their death bed, since they…
Read MoreI want to be a real Christian
Question: I am a 17-year-old girl who believes in Jesus and God, but I have sinned a lot. I have used God’s name in vain. I have even questioned if He was good or evil. I know God is good and only God is good. I have even said I didn’t believe in Him. I…
Read MoreIs II Thessalonians 1:7-9 referring to two groups of people?
Question: In II Thessalonians 1:7-9, are those who know not God, and those who obey not the gospel two groups of people, and if so what groups is this verse referring to? Answer: “… and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in…
Read MoreIs my ex-husband, who became a homosexual, lost?
Question: My ex-husband has been or was (depending on your biblical view) a Christian for 35 years. We were married for over 30 years when he told me he was leaving me because he is gay and is now a practicing homosexual. What happens about him going to heaven? If you believe once saved, always…
Read MoreHow Many Roads Lead to Heaven?
by Erin Percell via The Beacon, March 10, 2009 On a map, you can see many roads leading to any major city. You can pick whatever route suits you. Many people think the same thing about variety among churches — “We’re all on different roads to the same place,” they say. Can such a thing…
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