Posts Tagged ‘salvation’
Is the earth being saved by water and fire?
Question: I was studying baptism, and I looked up every verse I could find on baptism. I always believed that we have to be baptized to receive salvation, of course along with obedience to all the commandments and walking with faith in Jesus Christ. I read the verse in Peter where it is talking about…
Read MoreAre we responsible only for ourselves or for others as well?
Question: Hi there, I think it is in Matthew we read that we should not cause another to sin. Are we responsible for our own salvation? Or can we be held responsible someday for causing another to sin and which kept them out of heaven? Answer: “But whoever causes one of these little ones who…
Read MoreWhy doesn’t God just end the world and stop the corruption?
Question: We know, as a fact, that our God does not want anyone to perish and wants all to come to the knowledge of Him and salvation. We even deduce that he created us out of love, as He is love. At the same time, we expect that most people will not be saved, and…
Read MoreBeing Made New
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/BeingMadeNew.mp3 by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Isaiah 42:1-12 I. It is that time of year when we begin thinking about the new year. A. Sure, it is just a date, a marker in the sand, but it becomes an opportunity to look at what was done and resolve to do better. B. Paul talked about that in…
Read MoreDoes the Case of Cornelius Prove the “Sinner’s Prayer” Doctrine?
by Wayne Jackson Does not the case of Cornelius, the Roman soldier (Acts 10), prove that God hears the prayers of those who have not been baptized? The angel told Cornelius, “your prayer has been heard” (Acts 10:31), and yet the centurion was not baptized until later. Can you explain the apparent conflict between this…
Read MoreIf you tell a lie to someone you barely know, will you go to hell?
Question: Well, I don’t know why, but I said I hated the Bible. Right after I said that I got worried and started to say I didn’t mean it! I feel so horrible and scared. The second is that if I lied to someone I barely knew, will God forgive me? Can I move on…
Read MoreEvidence of Pardon: How Can I Know I Am Saved?
by Kenneth E. Thomas Christianity is a system of faith, but it is not a leap of faith. Our faith in God is founded firmly upon the evidence of His existence found in His creation. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). “Because what may be known…
Read MoreIs there redemption for a person who has been in multiple marriages?
Question: What’s the fate of a man or woman who has married twice, have discovered the church of Christ, and are convinced it’s the only true way? Can the person be baptized? Brethren in my congregation says there’s no redemption for such a person because of the person’s past marital life. Answer: Redemption is available…
Read MoreWhen did baptism for the remission of sins start?
Question: In the “Articles” section, under Baptism, “Answering Arguments Against Baptism”. You state that “Baptism for the remission of sins did not begin until the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:37-38), so the thief (and Jesus) lived under the law of Moses.” Please read Mark 1:4: “John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism…
Read MoreWhat happens if sin is not confessed immediately and the sinner dies?
Question: How does I John 2:1 work for believers? One commentator talks of consent for the advocate to succeed but sometimes believers don’t get convicted of their sins immediately, for example, David in II Samuel 11 and 12. Does this mean his advocacy will not avail them? If they die, will they go to hell?…
Read MoreI was saved once, but I’ve sinned so much. How can I serve the Lord?
Question: When I was 14, I was saved and born again. I immediately felt the power of the Holy Spirit enters my life. I got into the Bible, read it daily, and had a grave sensitivity to sin. I hated it. All the shows I used to enjoy I couldn’t bear watching because of all…
Read MoreI think I committed the sin of lust. What do I do?
Question: I think I committed lust. I thought of having sex with a person I knew, and really do regret it, after I found out it is a very big sin. No one told me it was a sin, but after I’ve done some research, I found out it is as if I am actually…
Read MoreHave some people visited hell in a near-death experience?
Question: I have recently seen a video on YouTube that took quotes from people who had near-death-experiences and had apparently “been” to Hell. And what they said about it just seems to me like it couldn’t be. How could God let anyone, good or bad, be made to have that much pain for all eternity?…
Read MoreCan a Christian come back after falling several times?
Question: I’ve been pondering and thinking about it all. Here’s my question, can a saved Christian after he’s saved and changes his lifestyle, shrink back? Fall from the faith? Go back to his old ways? And then return back to Christ? For a more clear illustration: Say a young man is involved with gang activity,…
Read MoreHow do I ask for forgiveness after sinning so terribly?
Question: I’m not sure how to fix what I’ve done – or if it is fixable at all. I gave my boyfriend a hand-job a few weeks ago, and I’ve felt guilty ever since then. I told him that I don’t want to do it again because I realized that I had committed fornication, and…
Read MoreGod’s Captivated Captives
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/2011Spring1GodsCaptivatedCaptives.mp3 by Taylor Ladd Influence and Evangelism
Read MoreThere 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…
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