Questions & Answers


Second series of queries relating to what the Bible teaches

"The Lord will give thee understanding in all things" (2 Tim. 2: 7).

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Question 101: Surely the prohibition in 1 Cor. 14: 34, 35 is for the wives not to chatter rather than being a prohibition against women in general speaking?

Question 102: Why is it said that out of the original congregation only Joshua and Caleb entered the land of Canaan, when we read of the death and burial of Eleazar in “mount Ephraim” (Josh. 24: 33)?

Question 103: Rom. 11: 2 says that “God has not cast away his people whom he foreknew” and yet v15 seems to imply that Israel has been cast away. How is the apparent contradiction explained?

Question 104: In the light of Matt. 16: 20, 21, do the words “I will build my assembly” (Matt. 16: 18) imply Jew and Gentile equal in one body along the lines of Eph. 2: 16?

Question 105: What is meant by marrying "in [the] Lord" (1 Cor. 7: 39)?

Question 106: Why do Paul’s epistles often open with salutations from both the Father and the Son, but never the Holy Spirit?

Question 107: What is the force of the words “on earth” in the Scripture “But that ye may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins” (Matt. 9: 6)?

Question 108: Is there any Scripture that clearly shows that persons were baptised who were not said to believe first?

Question 109: In referring to the Godhead, many Christians speak of divine Persons. Where does this expression come from?

Question 110: Why does Paul refer to himself as an “abortion” in 1 Cor. 15: 8?

Question 111: 1 Cor. 13: 8 says that tongues “shall cease”. When did this happen, or is it still in the future?

Question 112: Many teach that the last three feasts in Leviticus 23 are prophetic and have not yet been fulfilled. How can this be right as the second of these is the Day of Atonement which clearly refers to the Lord’s death?

Question 113: It was recently stated that Paul’s ministry of the mystery is absent from Acts. But surely this claim is disproved as he taught it in the epistles written during the time of the Acts (see Rom. 12: 4–8; 16: 25–27; 1 Cor. 12: 12–27)?

Question 114: Who is Paul identifying as Lord in “Now the Lord is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3: 17)? Surely the use of a capital letter for the word spirit would suggest the Holy Spirit?

Question 115: In the article entitled The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, it is said that the Great Commission of Matt. 28 has nothing to do with Christianity. How is this justified from Scripture?

Question 116: If Paul wrote Hebrews why doesn’t his name appear in the introduction as in all his other epistles?

Question 117: Who is the “Israel of God” referred to in Galatians 6: 16: “And as many as shall walk by this rule, peace upon them and mercy, and upon the Israel of God”?

Question 118: Should a believer’s body be cremated?

Question 119: Does Heb. 6: 4–8 suggest that Christians can fall away and be eternally lost?

Question 120: What does “but now they are holy” (1 Cor. 7: 14) mean?

Question 121: Why does Paul (see 2 Thess. 2: 2–8) identify the day of the Lord with the period of time just before the Lord’s appearing, while Peter (see 2 Pet. 3: 10–12) identifies it with the destruction of the present heavens and earth over a thousand years later?

Question 122: Should Christians sign up to a statement of faith?

Question 123: Who are the elect in 2 Tim. 2: 10?

Question 124: When believers die and “have fallen asleep in Christ” (1 Cor. 15: 18), does that mean that that they are utterly unaware of anything until the resurrection?

Question 125: What is the meaning of Gal. 3: 20: “But a mediator is not of one, but God is one”?

Question 126: Is. 63: 16 is surely clear evidence that Israel knew God as Father, and that the relationship is not unique to the Christian?

Question 127: What is the meaning of “Jehovah our God is one Jehovah” (Deut. 6: 4, my emphasis)?

Question 128: How do the Scriptures present true faith in God?

Question 129: How does Baptism save?

Question 130: Is the Lord Jesus Christ the Jehovah of the OT?

Question 131: In the light of John 4: 20–24, how could Paul claim before Felix that “I went up to worship at Jerusalem” (Acts 24: 11)?

Question 132: Was the Genesis flood local or universal?

Question 133: If Paul had “not shrunk from announcing … all the counsel of God” (Acts 20: 27), how could he later claim that he had “done nothing against the ... customs of our forefathers” (Acts 28: 17)?

Question 134: If a company of Christians is dying out, does that mean that there is something wrong in principle with it?

Question 135: Was Nicodemus born again when he met the Lord by night?

Question 136: What is meant by serving God “acceptably with reverence and fear” (Heb. 12: 28)?

Question 137: Is the first prayer meeting recorded after the descent of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 4: 23–31) a pattern for prayer meetings today?

Question 138: Does “the mystery” (Eph. 3: 3) mean nothing more than God widening His blessing beyond the Jew to include the Gentiles?

Question 139: Was the voice from heaven that spoke to Peter in Acts 10: 13, 15 that of the Holy Spirit?

Question 140: How does the Lord’s answer to the challenge of the Sadducees in Matt. 22: 29–33, Mark 12: 24–27 and Luke 20: 34–38 prove resurrection?

Question 141: In the light of such NT Scriptures as 2 Cor. 3: 6 surely the new covenant is made with the Church?

Question 142: If the new covenant is not made with Christians, why is it referred to in one particular Christian book (Hebrews) more than anywhere else in the NT?

Question 143: Is not Psalm 48: 10, when read in the light of the baptismal formula of Matthew 28: 19, proof that the Holy Spirit is to be addressed by Christians in prayer and song?

Question 144: Is the fact that the Holy Spirit replaced the Lord Jesus as “another Comforter” (John 14: 16) sufficient warrant to speak to Him?

Question 145: How did the Lord Jesus come by water and blood as stated in 1 John 5: 6?

Question 146: Are those punished with “everlasting destruction” (2 Thess. 1: 9) exterminated in the “second death” of Rev. 20: 14?

Question 147: Should Christians be involved in the donation of their body organs in order to save others?

Question 148: How can the statements “and the Word was with God” and “the Word was God” (John 1: 1, my emphasis) both be true?

Question 149: How do you reconcile Matt. 24: 36 with the fact that the last week of Daniel’s prophecy of the seventy weeks (Daniel 9: 24–27) commences with the rapture of the Church?

Question 150: Does Matt. 11: 11 mean that John the Baptist will not be in the Kingdom?

Question 151: “Can faith save him?” (James 2: 14) assumes an answer of ‘No’. How is this to be understood in the light of Eph. 2: 8?

Question 152: In his books on the gospel, a well–known evangelical teacher claims that there has only ever been one gospel. Is this true?

Question 153: In the light of the word begotten, why doesn’t Ps. 2: 7 refer to the Lord’s birth?

Question 154: Why did Judas have to be replaced to make twelve apostles in Acts 1: 21–26 but not James in Acts 12: 2?

Question 155: Does Rom. 10: 17 prove that the un–evangelised heathen are lost because they have never heard of Christ?

Question 156: Is the "regeneration" of Titus 3: 5 the same as being "born anew" (John 3: 3, 7) and "born again" (1 Pet. 1: 23)?

Question 157: Why does John not record the institution of the Lord’s supper?

Question 158: Who are the “the seven Spirits which [are] before his throne” (Rev. 1: 4)?

Question 159: What is the bearing of the life in John 11: 25, 26—especially the words “and every one who lives and believes on me shall never die”?

Question 160: Does Mark 16: 16 prove that only believers should be baptised?

Question 161: What is the purpose of the Assembly?

Question 162: What are the qualities that make a good preacher?

Question 163: What is the relevance of the Galatian error today?

Question 164: In coming into this world, did the Lord derive any genetic inheritance from his mother Mary?

Question 165: Is it Scriptural to speak of the Lord’s humanity?

Question 166: Is it essential for a believer to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus when praying to God?

Question 167: What is the “great salvation” of Heb. 2: 3?

Question 168: If hell is eternal, why did the Lord contrast it with the kingdom—which is limited to 1000 years in time?

Question 169: Is it possible to celebrate the Lord's Supper online?

Question 170: Can government instructions ever be disregarded by the believer?

Question 171: Are virtual meetings the equivalent of a physical coming together?

Question 172: Rom. 11: 15 appears to say that at the present time the world is reconciled to God. Is this true?

Question 173: Who has the right to suspend the worship of God?

Question 174: What is "not holding fast the head" (Col. 2: 19)?

Question 175: What should churches do if the government requires them to turn people away that do not have the correct documentation?

Question 176: What does it mean to call upon the name of the Lord?

Question 177: Is it right to speak of ‘coming into fellowship’ today?

Question 178: What is the spiritual significance of the Song of Songs?

Question 179: Should the preacher invite persons to ‘decide for Christ’?

Question 180: Why does the cup precede the loaf in Luke’s account of the inaugural Lord’s Supper?

Question 181: Is "departure and being with Christ" (Phil. 1: 23) the hope of the Christian?

Question 182: What is the baptism for the dead (see 1 Cor. 15: 29)?

Question 183: What does it mean to bring children up “in [the] discipline and admonition of [the] Lord” (Eph. 6: 4)?

Question 184: What is repentance?

Question 185: Why does the apostle John witness to the water and the blood?

Question 186: Are hymns to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit Scriptural?

Question 187: In the last Q & A, it was argued that hymns to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not Scriptural. Is this not denying God the full Christian response in worship that He is due?

Question 188: Does the Bible separate the law of Moses into a moral law and a ceremonial law?

Question 189: Is the reliability of the Bible undermined by the fact that some translations speak about mythical animals like unicorns and dragons?

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