Content on Acts 18:9
51 results
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Does God Change?
Yes, it is true that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The prophet Malachi wrote, “For I, Jehovah, change not” (3:6). In Hebrews 13:8, the inspired penman writes, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yea and forever.” So it is clear that God doesn’t change. He is Deity. And...
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Are Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit “God” in Nature?
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...
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Does God Limit His Own Foreknowledge?
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...
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Did God Reward Midwives for Lying?
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...
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When Peter Stood Condemned
The term "condemned" in Galatians 2:11 is a point of controversy among some commentators. As with many biblical texts, it is important to understand what is happening in the passage and the circumstances that prompted the author to write. The larger context in which the controversial term is foun...
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What Is the Meaning of Romans 3:31?
The correct interpretation of this passage depends on four things — the meaning of “law,” the significance of “faith,” and a consideration of these terms in both the immediate and remote contexts of scripture. We must note at the outset that respectable scholars hold slightly different views on c...
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Must Terminally Ill Christians Artificially Prolong Life?
Life-and-death issues are among the most difficult decisions we may ever have to make. This is a question many are facing, especially as medical treatments and technology can extend life beyond what the body can sustain on its own. Since the Bible does not provide specific answers to many questio...
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Are We Resurrected from the Dead When We Obey the Gospel?
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...
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What Was the Nature of Cain’s Sin?
Though the Genesis narrative gives no explicit reason why God rejected Cain's offering, the cumulative evidence suggests that Cain's transgression was more than simply offering an inferior gift. Abel's Gift Was More Excellent While the adjective pleion (rendered "more excellent") basically means ...
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The Gospel Writers and Their Quotations from Jesus
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...
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Buy a Sword?
Several observations regarding this matter are in order. First, one cannot take a passage that presents a difficulty and set it against an almost encyclopedic collection of information that leads to an opposite conclusion. That isn’t a legitimate approach to biblical interpretation, and it reveal...
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Is Taking an Oath in Court or Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance Forbidden?
First, let me point out that the term "swear," as employed in our modern society, has two distinct senses. It is used as an equivalent for profanity, which, of course, no Christian should ever use. The term "swear" may also refer to a legal oath. The question above concerns this latter usage. Is ...
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What Is Bible “Inspiration”?
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...
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Did Mary, Jesus’ Mother, Ever Sin?
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...
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Does the Old Testament Condemn Tattoos?
We must be very careful about trying to use Old Testament passages as proof-texts for what we may or may not practice in the Christian age. It is a fundamental aspect of Bible doctrine that the Mosaic system was abrogated by the death of Christ (Ephesians 2:14ff; Colossians 2:14ff). The law of Mo...
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Does the Bible Recommend Drinking Alcoholic Beverages?
What does this puzzling passage mean? As with any troubling or difficult passage, we must first understand the context to better grasp what the author means. Proverbs 31 begins as follows: “The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him” (v. 1). What did the king’s mother teach hi...
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What Are the New Heavens and New Earth?
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...
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What About the Name Jehovah?
The term “Jehovah,” appearing in the American Standard Version (1901), takes the place of “LORD” (all caps) in the King James Translation, as well as in most modern versions. It derives from four Hebrew consonants, called the Tetragrammaton, a term that signifies a four-letter word. This expressi...
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What Is a Pastor?
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 ...
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Was Christ Raised from the Dead on Sunday or Saturday?
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...
