by Doy Moyer<\/p>\n
Have you ever taken for granted certain things and believed them, just because that is what you have been told? Perhaps you find yourself in that situation now, believing and doing things because that is what you were told. Religious people sometimes believe and practice something because a preacher said it, or because that is what their parents have always taught them. This can also be true of those who do not believe in God and do not accept the Bible. They have been told that He does not exist and that the Bible is not true, but have not personally looked into the matter themselves. Regardless of what one believes or practices, it is a shame when he does so only on the word of others.<\/p>\n
We wish to briefly challenge your thinking here, hoping to create in you a desire to study on your own and learn more about God’s way as found in the Scriptures. With this in mind, you may be surprised to learn:<\/p>\n
Many people do not study the Bible because they do not believe that it can be understood. However, God tells us not to be foolish, but “understand the will of the Lord<\/em>” (Ephesians 5:17). God does not tell us to do something that cannot be done. Therefore, by reading and studying, we can understand the Bible and handle it accurately\u00a0(Ephesians 3:3-4; II Timothy 2:15). If you have been told that we cannot understand the Bible, think again; God commands it.<\/p>\n Many teach that they are still receiving revelations from God.\u00a0They assert that God told them to do certain things, apart from the Bible. Yet, the Bible itself says that this is not so. Jesus promised His apostles that the Holy Spirit, through them, would reveal all truth\u00a0(John 16:13). The two alternatives are either that this happened or it did not. If it did not, then Jesus was a lair; if it did, then all truth was given by the time the last apostle died. According to\u00a0Jude 3, the faith has been “once for all delivered” to the saints. This means that what was revealed was of perpetual validity and never needs repetition. In other words, revelation is complete. The Bible is complete, and we need not look for further revelations from God. His will is already made known. If you have been taught otherwise, we ask that you search the Scriptures to see if this is what the Bible teaches.<\/p>\n Many claim the ability to work miracles and speak in tongues. However, their claims fall far short of what the Bible teaches. The Scriptures teach that miracles were done for the purpose of proving who Christ was and for confirming the word that was spoken (John 20:30-31; Mark 16:20; Hebrews 2:1-4). For example, when the apostles went about preaching the gospel, they needed some way to prove that what they said was from God. Thus, God worked with them confirming the word through accompanying signs. Yet, the Bible also teaches that the time would come when those spiritual gifts would cease (I Corinthians 13:8-13). They were to cease when the revelation was completed. When all truth promised by Jesus was revealed, then there would be no more need for accompanying signs. The word was confirmed, and we have the result today in the Bible. If you have been taught otherwise, search the Scriptures to see what they say about miracles and spiritual gifts. You may be surprised at what you learn.<\/p>\n Some teach that salvation is only for a few who have already been unconditionally chosen by God. However, the Bible teaches that Christ died for everyone and that God’s desire is for everyone to come to a knowledge of the truth and be saved (I John 2:2; John 12:32; I Timothy 2:4; II Peter 3:9). This includes you. Many do not believe they can be forgiven of their sins. They think they have done such terrible things that God cannot forgive them. This is not true. No matter what you have done in the past, you can have your sins forgiven. God promised rest to all who are weary and heavy laden (Matthew 11:28-30). Jesus Christ died on the cross for all sin; His blood is powerful enough to cover any and every sin that you may have committed. We must learn to trust in the promises of God.<\/p>\n The Bible teaches that we are saved by grace through faith\u00a0(Ephesians 2:8). Yet grace, even though something that we cannot earn, is accessed by meeting the conditions laid down by God in His word. In other words, we must obey the gospel\u00a0(Romans 10:16; 6:17; II Thessalonians 1:7-9). Christ is the author of eternal salvation to all that obey Him\u00a0(Hebrews 5:9). Without obedience to God’s commands, our faith is dead and we cannot be saved\u00a0(James 2:14-26).<\/p>\n Many do not believe in the reality of heaven and hell. Others believe that heaven is real but that hell is not a real place. However, the Bible teaches the reality of both. Heaven is a place of rest for those who were righteous before God. It is a place of everlasting life\u00a0(see Hebrews 4:1-11; Revelation 21-22). But as real as heaven is, hell is also. Hell is a place of eternal punishment for those who have rejected God, a place where the worm does not die and fire is not quenched\u00a0(Mark 9:48).<\/p>\n We will all give an account of ourselves to God\u00a0(II Corinthians 5:10). Are you ready for this day? The Bible teaches us to repent of our sins, confess Christ, and be baptized for the remission of our sins\u00a0(Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9,10).<\/p>\n We plead with you to search the Scriptures daily, and find out whether the things you have been taught are true\u00a0(Acts 17:11). Take only God’s word as the final authority. This is the only safe course of salvation.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Doy Moyer Have you ever taken for granted certain things and believed them, just because that is what you have been told? Perhaps you find yourself in that situation now, believing and doing things because that is what you were told. Religious people sometimes believe and practice something because a preacher said it, or…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1277,1571,428,46,373,363,169,47,761],"class_list":["post-50250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-denominationalism","tag-forgiveness","tag-gifts-of-the-holy-spirit","tag-heaven","tag-hell","tag-miracles","tag-prophecy","tag-salvation","tag-understanding"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":68299,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-there-no-proof-of-christianitys-truth\/","url_meta":{"origin":50250,"position":0},"title":"Is there no proof of Christianity’s truth?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My sister told me to grow up. She said, \"I feel like I'm talking to a younger me,\" and told me that I'd understand what she spoke of when I was older. What did she speak of? She denied Christ and said, \"I am sure Christ made mistakes.\" When\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90778,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/gods-power-to-save\/","url_meta":{"origin":50250,"position":1},"title":"God’s Power to Save","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0by J. F. Dancer When Paul wrote the letter to the saints at Rome, he explained to them why he had not yet visited them. He had promised to come and still intended to do so (Romans 15:24), but had been prevented (Romans 1:13). Then he set forth the basic\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31962,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-be-sure-that-the-bible-is-fully-correct\/","url_meta":{"origin":50250,"position":2},"title":"How can I be sure that the Bible is fully correct?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 27, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm a teenager wanting to know the truth, so please help me out. How can I be sure that the Bible is fully correct? I mean people must have added or taken out scriptures to try to confuse us. How can I know what religion is correct? I know\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":69051,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/here-is-what-the-spirit-told-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":50250,"position":3},"title":"Here Is What the Spirit Told Me","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 27, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Mormons have told me that if I pray for Spirit guidance, the Spirit will make it clear that the Book of Mormon is from God. Well, I prayed that God would make it clear to me whether the Bible is His complete revelation or if the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61080,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-i-left-the-baptist-church-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":50250,"position":4},"title":"Why I Left the Baptist Church (Stevens)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 29, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Grover Stevens No Animosity For Baptists I would like to say in the beginning that I have no animosity whatsoever against Baptists. Personally, I have no reason for leaving the Baptist church, but quite to the contrary, if personal reasons counted, I would never have left the Baptist Church,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40778,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-i-hurt-the-reputation-of-my-ex-boyfriend\/","url_meta":{"origin":50250,"position":5},"title":"Did I hurt the reputation of my ex-boyfriend?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Over five years ago, I met a man who became my boyfriend.\u00a0He was a deacon in his church.\u00a0 He brought me to his church\u00a0and there I attended. He has a history of being involved in multiple relationships before being converted to Christ many years ago.\u00a0 He has been divorced\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50250\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}That revelation is complete.<\/h3>\n
That miracles and spiritual gifts worked through men have ceased.<\/h3>\n
That you can have your sins forgiven and be saved.<\/h3>\n
That salvation is conditional.<\/h3>\n
That heaven and hell are real places.<\/h3>\n
There is a day of judgment coming (Acts 17:30-31).<\/h3>\n