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Three verses in the New Testament include the word “pastor” (in various forms): Ephesians 4:11, Acts 20:28, and 1 Peter 5:2. In Ephesians 4:11, Paul discusses various roles that Christ placed in the church. He intends for “pastors and teachers” to serve in the church. The expression “pastors and ...
First of all, the midwives may have told the truth. It may have been that the Hebrew women, fearing the king’s commandment, did not call for the midwives in a timely way. Second, one is not obligated to disclose everything one knows. Withholding information is not necessarily a falsehood (cf. Luk...
Before we obey the gospel, we are dead in sin (Eph. 2:1). But the question is, to what does this refer: the physical body or a spiritual condition? It refers, of course, to our spiritual condition. The passages cited in the question (Rom. 6:3-8; Col. 2:11-12) discuss the spiritual life we can hav...
As a general rule, we refrain from commenting on specific problems congregations or individuals may be having. Regardless, I must say that an individual who teaches what this question represents is incorrect in their views regarding Christ and the Holy Spirit. Let us consider each of the proposit...
There are those known as “conditionalists” who argue for the eventual annihilation of the wicked. The gentleman asking this question does not appear to be in this category, but he repeats a charge familiar to their theology. Conditionalists frequently suggest that Bible students believing in the ...
The question clearly indicates that the author is a conditionalist. A conditionalist is one who believes that at some point following death, those who die estranged from God will be annihilated, that is, cease to exist. This is the dogma of the Seventh-day Adventists, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and...
One of the most difficult tasks for the Bible student is attempting to discuss the attributes of God with great precision. The divine qualities are so infinite, and our minds so finite, that we scarcely can fathom the Creator's marvelous features. In attempting to accommodate our limited scope of...
Let's review the text from which this question comes. “And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the s...
When we discuss the fact that we “hear God,” we are considering what God fundamentally communicates about the plan of salvation and how we can obey it. Of course, God “speaks” through his creation (Ps. 19:1; Rom. 1:20). But this general revelation of God does not specify how we can be saved from ...
This is a good question, but the alleged problem is not of serious import. Let us consider the following factors. General Principles First, it has long been recognized that when referring to another's audible use of language or written words, it is not necessary to quote verbatim to accurately re...
The Bible makes a claim that most books do not. It claims to be from God. Some books, both ancient and modern, also claim a divine origin. However, unlike other books that make the claim, the Bible’s claim is true. When we say the Bible is inspired, several factors must be considered. First, “ins...
It's not surprising that some cultists, who deny the deity of Christ, avoid worshiping the Lord. What's shocking is that some—who are quite sincere, but should know better and hopefully will learn better—are expressing opposition to the idea that Christ is worthy of worship. For example, one man ...
There are three important reasons this language does not mean Jesus was raised from the grave on Saturday. Compare the Witness Testimony The first thing we need to do is compare the Gospel accounts. When we do, we find that the other Gospel accounts clearly show that this visit occurred on the fi...
The Catholic Church teaches two errors with reference to Mary’s alleged sinlessness: 1. It argues that the mother of Jesus was conceived "immaculately," meaning she did not inherit, as others supposedly do, the guilt of Adam's "original sin." 2. The Roman Church also contends that Mary never comm...
As with many Bible-related questions, the answer lies in how words and concepts are defined. Let's think about what are the real differences between monotheism and polytheism. Monotheism The original religion of ancient mankind was monotheism. Monotheism is the worship of one, true Supreme Being....
The Genesis narrative indicates that Adam and Eve were charged with the responsibility to multiply and fill the earth (Gen. 1:28). After some ten generations of human history, a span of at least 1,656 years had elapsed. This figure is based on the biblical genealogical records. Moses recorded tha...
As is often the case, our Bible questions touch on some important fundamental issues: • What actually constitutes marriage in God's eyes? • What role does civil authority play? Let's examine what Scripture reveals. What Makes a Marriage Valid Before God? God's foundational design for marriage can...
First, no evidence shows that anyone other than the apostles received the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. They had been promised that blessing (see Acts 1:5, 8). The only other exception was to the household of Cornelius, in fulfillment of Joel's prophecy, as a divine token th...
There are two views concerning the meaning of the phrase "new heavens and new earth." Since they represent opposing viewpoints, one of them must be false. The phrase indicates that heaven could be a new, literal, physical Earth or simply a figurative way of referring to heaven itself. The Premill...
The pagan myth charge, often applied to the birth of Christ, is frequently made by the uninformed. Here is a classic example: “The idea of a supernatural or virgin birth is pagan, and it must have found its way into the story of Jesus through Gentile-Christian channels (Bundy, p. 11).” The truth ...