Posts Tagged ‘salvation’
Can 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…
Read MoreAre people who rejected the ministry of the Holy Spirit not Christians in actual fact?
Question: The article on the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as a sin that cannot be forgiven did not really explain why those people accused Jesus of casting the demons by the power of Beelzebub. In reality, there are people who professed to be Christians but reject the ministry of the Holy Spirit (speaking in tongues,…
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 MoreWhat about the American Indians, prior to their contact with Christianity? Could they have been saved?
Question: I was wondering if the American Indians in America prior to 1492 were saved despite their isolation from the rest of the world. Answer: You might as well also ask about the people prior to Christ. The Israelites had God’s law, but most of the world did not have the laws of God written…
Read MoreHow could a just God put a man in a place where he is unable to hear about Jesus and then send him to hell?
Question: From your sermon “The Lost Who Never Heard the Gospel”: “If people could be saved without going through Christ, then why would God have sent him to die?” Then is it safe to say that this God you say is a just God of love would create a human being, place him in a location where…
Read MoreIf a person isn’t baptized, does that mean they’ve never been forgiven of any sin?
Question: If a person isn’t baptized, does that mean that they’ve never been forgiven of any sin they’ve ever committed? Answer: “Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy…
Read MoreHow can you beautifully write about the law being nailed to the cross and insist that salvation comes through obedience?
Question: How can someone write a beautiful article like “What Was Nailed to the Cross?” and then insist that salvation comes through obedience to a new set of commands? Answer: Because it is what God stated. See “Doing Our Duty” and “In Word and Deed.” “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but…
Read MoreWhat is your church like?
Question: How do you have such a great understanding of the Bible? I would love to understand and live whole-heartily according to the Bible. This is what I have been in search of. I believe in Jesus Christ, I’ve accepted him as my personal savior, was baptized as an infant, but would like to be…
Read MoreWhat about people who spend their whole life following the wrong religion in ignorance?
Question: People are born into other religions and live their entire lives thinking that they are following the correct religion. They live life doing good deeds but follow their own religion. How does God view these people? Thank you for the web site and the learning that it provides to people such as myself that…
Read MoreAre there Christians in all churches?
Question: I have a friend that is a member of a denominational church. I am a member of Christ’s church. We had a discussion about Christians. I told her that she is not a Christian because she has not been added to the Lord’s one and only church of Christ. Do you have any Scriptures…
Read MoreAren’t there passages that say we are saved by faith?
Question: You say that “You will never find where the Bible says that baptism is a symbol, or that one is saved at the point of faith.” What about Luke 7:50? Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Ephesians 2:8 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from…
Read MoreWhy do you believe in God? If God loves us all, why doesn’t He let us all in heaven?
Question: Why do you believe in God? If God loves us all, why doesn’t He let us all in heaven? Answer: Why do you believe there is a Sydney, Australia? Assuming you have never been down under, what makes you believe it exists? There are multiple interlocking reasons why believing in God makes sense. I have…
Read MoreWhat Does the Bible Say About Salvation?
by Frank Richey via The Elgin Hills Examiner, Vol. 4, Nos. 4-6, April — June 2009. Notice we do not ask the question, “What does a particular church teach about salvation?” The reason for this is that no church has the divine right to teach anything about salvation other than what is revealed in the…
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