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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
If you have bible related
questions or research visit our
Bible Search area
Click here!
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QUESTION:
Where in the Bible does it say we have to go to church? |
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| QUESTION:
Why are there different denominations? |
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| QUESTION:
What are the right reasons to get married? |
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| QUESTION:
How can I strengthen my marriage?
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| QUESTION:
Does the bible state anywhere in it that it is wrong to have a child out of wedlock? |
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| QUESTION:
Are we now filled with the Holy Spirit when we are baptized? Is the Holy Spirit active? |
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| QUESTION:
Do you have any information on "original sin" and Purgatory?? |
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| QUESTION:
Where in the bible does it talk about purgatory? |
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| QUESTION:
Does the phrase, "Call (Pray) Jesus into your heart" or any similar phrase appear in the bible? |
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| QUESTION:
Due to the fact that God is Omnipresent, does he have a presence in Hell?
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Where in the Bible does it say we have to go to church? |
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First I want to address the
phrase "go to church". We
can sit in a pew, or go to a
chapel, but "church" means
"assembly" or "the called
out". The church is not a
place you go to but
something you are a part of.
The church is those who have
the hope of eternal life in
Christ Jesus.
Nowhere in the Bible will
you find God obliging us to
do anything, i.e. being part
of His church, not even to
love Him. God loves us and
is committed to doing
everything He can for us
that we may live full and
satisfied lives:
Act 17:22-31
(22) So Paul,
standing in the midst of the
Areopagus, said: "Men of
Athens, I perceive that in
every way you are very
religious.
(23) For as I passed along
and observed the objects of
your worship, I found also
an altar with this
inscription, 'To the unknown
god.' What therefore you
worship as unknown, this I
proclaim to you.
(24) The God who made the
world and everything in it,
being Lord of heaven and
earth, does not live in
temples made by man,
(25) nor is he served by
human hands, as though he
needed anything, since he
himself gives to all mankind
life and breath and
everything.
(26) And he made from one
man every nation of mankind
to live on all the face of
the earth, having determined
allotted periods and the
boundaries of their dwelling
place,
(27) that they should seek
God, in the hope that they
might feel their way toward
him and find him. Yet he is
actually not far from each
one of us,
(28) for "'In him we live
and move and have our
being'; as even some of your
own poets have said, "'For
we are indeed his
offspring.'
(29) Being then God's
offspring, we ought not to
think that the divine being
is like gold or silver or
stone, an image formed by
the art and imagination of
man.
(30) The times of ignorance
God overlooked, but now he
commands all people
everywhere to repent,
(31) because he has fixed a
day on which he will judge
the world in righteousness
by a man whom he has
appointed; and of this he
has given assurance to all
by raising him from the
dead."
As this passage affirms, God
is trying to always get our
attention because we will
live best in Him and with
Him. A day is coming when
God will judge all mankind
according to each
individual's relationship
with Him. If you want to
have a relationship with God
then that relationships will
demand some responsibilities
as does any relationship.
Can a man rightfully tell
his new bride right after
their wedding that he
doesn't need to have sex
with her? Of course he can
tell her that, but that
wouldn't be much of a
relationship would it?
In the same way, those who
are devoted to having a
relationship with Jesus show
their devotion in this way:
Act 2:41-42
(41) So those who received
his word were baptized, and
there were added that day
about three thousand souls.
(42) And they devoted
themselves to the apostles'
teaching and fellowship, to
the breaking of bread and
the prayers.
Notice that the appropriate
response to receiving Jesus'
words is to be immersed
(baptized) in Him (Romans
6:3-4). Baptism is like
marriage. It is a covenant
of promising yourself to
Jesus because you believe
Him. Devotion is shown
fourfold according to this
verse in Acts:
Devotion to
1- The Apostle's
Teaching (The Bible)
2- Fellowship (Any time of
communion with the saints,
which would include Sunday,
Bible Class, Small group
meetings, etc)
3- Breaking of Bread (Eating
in each other's homes;
intimate time together)
4- Prayer (Communication
with God)
If you continue reading this
chapter in Acts you will see
that these new Christians
fellowshipped everyday. They
wanted to! If someone has to
ask the question: "Do I have
to.....", they are betraying
themselves as lacking the
devotion, and so the
relationship with Jesus that
will save them.
Hebrews speaks about this:
Heb 10:23-27
(23) Let us hold
fast the confession of our
hope without wavering, for
he who promised is faithful.
(24) And let us consider how
to stir up one another to
love and good works,
(25) not neglecting to meet
together, as is the habit of
some, but encouraging one
another, and all the more as
you see the Day drawing
near.
(26) For if we go on sinning
deliberately after receiving
the knowledge of the truth,
there no longer remains a
sacrifice for sins,
(27) but a fearful
expectation of judgment, and
a fury of fire that will
consume the adversaries.
If we truly believe Jesus as
Lord and Savior, then we
will hold fast to our hope
and not be morose in our
devotion to Him. We will
encourage others to continue
in the right path and we
will meet together as often
as we do because when we
meet that is when we have
the opportunity to
encourage.
Lack of this devotion will
show in a life that just
keeps accumulating sin, and
where sin accumulates, there
is only expectation of
judgment. This is not what
God wants for His people;
after all, there is no
condemnation for those who
are in Christ (Rom
8:1)!
However, the devil will try
as he might to get your
focus on the world instead
of devoting yourself to
being holy and so making
your salvation and election
secure (2Peter
1:10; Phil 2:12)
until Jesus comes back.
So you see, the Bible may
not say "you have to go to
church", but it does say you
need to be devoted to more
than just meeting at the
assemblies in order for your
salvation to be secure.
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QUESTION:
Why are there different
denominations?
Your question is absolutely
valid! It is a question I
asked myself about 20 years
ago, when I was an agnostic
and wanted nothing to do
with religion because of
that question.
In the early church, before
any denominations existed,
there were some divisions
forming and the apostle Paul
said about them:
1Co 11:18-19 For,
in the first place, when you
come together as a church, I
hear that there are
divisions among you. And I
believe it in part, (19) for
there must be factions among
you in order that those who
are genuine among you may be
recognized.
So, God allows these
divisions to exist so we can
all see which one is
approved by God. Only those
who follow the pattern of
the New Testament are
approved by God.
Most others are only
interested in following
man-made traditions and
their own thoughts and
calling it God's will:
Mark 7:5-9 And
the Pharisees and the
scribes asked him, "Why do
your disciples not walk
according to the tradition
of the elders, but eat with
defiled hands?" (6) And he
said to them, "Well did
Isaiah prophesy of you
hypocrites, as it is
written, "'This people
honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from
me; (7) in vain do they
worship me, teaching as
doctrines the commandments
of men.' (8) You leave the
commandment of God and hold
to the tradition of men."
(9) And he said to them,
"You have a fine way of
rejecting the commandment of
God in order to establish
your tradition!
This is what the majority of
the religious world does
today. They are hypocrites
for saying they follow God
but in reality all they
follow are their own
thoughts and other people's
teachings |
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QUESTION:
What are the right reasons
to get married?
Basically there are 2
Conditions to experience
True Companionship:
1. Fullness
It is fullness that makes a
relationship, not emptiness.
You should want to be in a
relationship with someone
because you are, and feel,
full of love and good things
you want to share with that
person. You want to be
bringing good things into a
relationship, not looking at
what you can get or take in
a relationship. You want to
look at what you can give to
the relationship, not what
the relationship can give to
you. I'm not saying you
shouldn't be interested in
how distracting a
relationship could be, or
what wrong influences it
could burden you with.
Someone with the right focus
will be interested in that,
but that person will be able
to look at that because they
are looking at what they can
give, not at what they can
get. Someone who is looking
to get something out of a
relationship is usually
blindsided enough so that
they cannot even asses how
distracting or negative a
relationship could be for
them.
2. Attitude of Openness &
Willingness to Grow and
Change
You should be willing and
able to look into the mirror
of your mate to learn more
about yourself. You should
consider your mate as a
partner and companion to you
on the exciting journey of
life. Someone who will be
there to help you,
complement you, teach you
and sharpen you spiritually,
emotionally and mentally.
The more you are open to the
things your relationship
will teach you, the better
your relationship will be.
If you are looking at the
relationship in a one-sided
way, you will not be able to
be a functioning part of the
relationship because it
takes two to make the
relationship a relationship!
You should not look at the
relationship as a
possession, but as a process
for both your growth and
your maturity in Christ.
Marriage is the ultimate
state of this process! You
cannot acquire a
relationship, you enter into
one voluntarily. Many of the
hang-ups that we have begin
by you developing an
unconscious possessiveness
of that other person in your
heart and mind, perhaps even
before that other person is
aware that you think that
way about them! This kind of
possessiveness promotes
barriers that prevent
intimacy from taking root
and developing into true
companionship. |
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QUESTION:
How can I strengthen my
marriage?
To give each other your full
devotion in marriage as the
Bible teaches you need to
love God with all your
heart, soul, mind and
strength:
You show who or what you
love by the amount of time
you invest in it. Here are
the relational priorities
you need to keep in mind to
experience the best of all
during this short life:
1- You and the Lord
Deut 6.4-5
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD
our God, the LORD is one. 5
Love the LORD your God with
all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your
strength.
You won't be able to
properly sustain and manage
the rest of the
relationships in your life
unless you and the Lord are
on a firm foundation.
Mark 12:31
The second is this: 'Love
your neighbor as yourself.'
There is no commandment
greater than these.
Love your neighbor as
yourself: The rest of your
relationships are neighbor
relationships. The Bible is
specific as to what
priorities they should have
in our relationship with
God:
2- Spouse
Eph
5.25-33
Husbands, love your wives,
just as Christ loved the
church and gave himself up
for her 26 to make her holy,
cleansing her by the washing
with water through the word,
27 and to present her to
himself as a radiant church,
without stain or wrinkle or
any other blemish, but holy
and blameless. 28 In this
same way, husbands ought to
love their wives as their
own bodies. He who loves his
wife loves himself. 29 After
all, no one ever hated his
own body, but he feeds and
cares for it, just as Christ
does the church- 30 for we
are members of his body.
31"For this reason a man
will leave his father and
mother and be united to his
wife, and the two will
become one flesh." 32 This
is a profound mystery-but I
am talking about Christ and
the church. 33 However, each
one of you also must love
his wife as he loves
himself, and the wife must
respect her husband.
Our marriages mirror our
relationships with God. As
Jesus is our head so we are
the head of our wife. We
need to imitate Jesus as
head. Jesus:
1. Gave Himself up for the
church
2. Makes the church holy by
virtue of His own holiness
3. Cleanses her by washing
her with God's Word
4. Presents her blameless
5. Loves the church as
himself
6. Loves the church since it
is His body
7. Cares for the church
8. Feeds the church
God made us one flesh: the
real work of marriage is to
agree and walk together as
one (Amos
3:3)
3- Children
Eph
6:1-4
1 Children, obey your
parents in the Lord, for
this is right. 2 "Honor your
father and mother"-which is
the first commandment with a
promise- 3 "that it may go
well with you and that you
may enjoy long life on the
earth." 4 Fathers, do not
exasperate your children;
instead, bring them up in
the training and instruction
of the Lord.
Notice how there is more
information on marriage in
these verses, but not too
much on parenting. That is
because parenting goes as
the marriage goes.
Fathers are addressed to
train and instruct their
children in the Lord. If you
are a good husband you will
be a good father.
Make sure your children know
you love your wife and them.
They will get to know all of
your worst and your best.
Children cannot come in
between mom and dad. Parents
need to present a united
front and see that their
relationship with their
spouses and the Lord has
priority.
A very sanitary version of
child sacrifice occurs all
around us today. The
children come last in our
busy lives. The children are
neglected spiritually, just
like they were in Old
Testament times with the god
of Molech (Jeremiah
32:35).
1Tim 5:8
If anyone does not provide
for his relatives, and
especially for his immediate
family, he has denied the
faith and is worse than an
unbeliever.
4- The church
Gal
6:10
Therefore, as we have
opportunity, let us do good
to all people, especially to
those who belong to the
family of believers.
"One another passages" show
this priority comes before
evangelism. If we love one
another in the church the
evangelism will happen
automatically.
Our worship will do more
harm than good if love is
not among us.
5- The lost
Mat
28.18-20
Then Jesus came to them and
said, "All authority in
heaven and on earth has been
given to me. 19 Therefore go
and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, 20 and teaching them
to obey everything I have
commanded you. And surely I
am with you always, to the
very end of the age."
If your relationships are
hurting, look one level up
to fix the problem. We are
used to looking down, but we
really need to look up.
If there are church
problems, then we need to
look at how the families are
doing.
Remember God looks always at
the heart of the matter:
1
Sam 16:7
The LORD does not look at
the things man looks at. Man
looks at the outward
appearance, but the LORD
looks at the heart."
I hope I have answered your
questions.
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QUESTION:
Does the bible state
anywhere in it that it is
wrong to have a child out of
wedlock?
Hosea 5:7
They are unfaithful to the
LORD; they give birth to
illegitimate children. Now
their New Moon festivals
will devour them and their
fields.
This verse captures the
essence of the wrongfulness
of having children without
being committed to a
marriage.
Obviously God wants a child
to grow up with both a
father and a mother, since
these have different roles
in the life of a child.
Those who make light of
this, like the verse above
in Hosea says, are plainly
unfaithful. They know
nothing of God and therefore
nothing of properly raising
a child.
Of course, if someone who is
a single parent decides to
repent and turn to God, He
is able to make them wise
and provide fully for that
child even in their
singleness. It will require
submissive discipleship,
however, as it does to be
saved and have eternal life.
Furthermore, since it is
evil to have sexual
relations outside of
marriage:
1 Corinthians 6:9
Do you not know
that the wicked will not
inherit the kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived: Neither
the sexually immoral nor
idolaters nor adulterers nor
male prostitutes nor
homosexual offenders
It surely follows that
having children without
getting married warrants the
same condemnation.
Notice that this list covers
sexual immorality, which is
having sex outside of
marriage and adultery, which
is having sex outside out
your own marriage. Those who
practice this will not go to
Heaven.
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QUESTION:
Are we now filled with the
Holy Spirit when we are
baptized? Is the Holy Spirit
active?
When you are baptized (fully
immersed in water) for the
forgiveness of sin after
truly repenting before the
Lord you are given the Holy
Spirit as a down payment for
Heaven:
Eph 1:13-14
(13) In him you
also, when you heard the
word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation, and believed
in him, were sealed with the
promised Holy Spirit,
(14) who is the guarantee of
our inheritance until we
acquire possession of it, to
the praise of his glory.
Act 5:32
(32) And we are
witnesses to these things,
and so is the Holy Spirit,
whom God has given to those
who obey him."
The Holy Sprit is the
promise Jesus makes in
John 16:7-8
Act 2:38-39
(38) And Peter
said to them, "Repent and be
baptized every one of you in
the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your
sins, and you will receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit.
(39) For the promise is for
you and for your children
and for all who are far off,
everyone whom the Lord our
God calls to himself."
Yes, the Holy Spirit is more
active ever than before!
Just because you don't see
Him working doesn't mean
He's not. His main job is as
follows:
Joh 16:7-8
(7) Nevertheless,
I tell you the truth: it is
to your advantage that I go
away, for if I do not go
away, the Helper will not
come to you. But if I go, I
will send him to you.
(8) And when he comes, he
will convict the world
concerning sin and
righteousness and judgment:
He, the Spirit, convicts the
world of sin, righteousness
and judgment. He is the one
working with you when you
preach the Gospel, to
convict others of their
sinfulness and to compel
them to obey the Gospel unto
Christ.
The Holy Spirit also:
1- Gives us strength -
Eph
3:14-17
2- Intercedes for us -
Rom
8:26-27
3- Helps us mature and bear
His Fruit on our lives -
Gal 5:22
4- He dwells in us -
1Co
6:18-20; 1Co 3:16-17; Rom
8:9-16
As you can see, He is the
member of the Godhead (Acts
5:3-4) that is
busy! Sent from the Father
after Jesus finished
atonement (Gal
4:6; John 15:26)
He is working with all true
Christians to help spread
the Gospel!
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QUESTION:
Do you have any information
on "original sin" and
Purgatory??
The following passage does
away with the idea of
original sin:
Eze
18:19-24
"Yet you say, 'Why should
not the son suffer for the
iniquity of the father?'
When the son has done what
is just and right, and has
been careful to observe all
my statutes, he shall surely
live. (20) The soul who sins
shall die. The son shall not
suffer for the iniquity of
the father, nor the father
suffer for the iniquity of
the son. The righteousness
of the righteous shall be
upon himself, and the
wickedness of the wicked
shall be upon himself. (21)
"But if a wicked person
turns away from all his sins
that he has committed and
keeps all my statutes and
does what is just and right,
he shall surely live; he
shall not die. (22) None of
the transgressions that he
has committed shall be
remembered against him; for
the righteousness that he
has done he shall live. (23)
Have I any pleasure in the
death of the wicked,
declares the Lord GOD, and
not rather that he should
turn from his way and live?
(24) But when a righteous
person turns away from his
righteousness and does
injustice and does the same
abominations that the wicked
person does, shall he live?
None of the righteous deeds
that he has done shall be
remembered; for the
treachery of which he is
guilty and the sin he has
committed, for them he shall
die.
There is no inheritance of
sin, is what this passage is
basically saying.
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QUESTION:
Where in the bible does it
talk about purgatory?
The word purgatory, which
means:
1. Roman Catholic Church:
A state in which the souls
of those who have died in
grace must expiate their
sins.
2. A place or condition of
suffering, expiation, or
remorse: a purgatory of drug
abuse.
...is not found in the Bible
at all. The word itself, by
Catholic definition, implies
a place where we could
suffer and pay for our sins.
Nothing is further from the
truth according to the New
Testament. We cannot pay for
our sins which is why Jesus
was offered to do so in our
place:
Romans 3:25
God presented him
as a sacrifice of atonement,
through faith in his blood.
He did this to demonstrate
his justice, because in his
forbearance he had left the
sins committed beforehand
unpunished...
Hebrews 2:17
For this reason
he had to be made like his
brothers in every way, in
order that he might become a
merciful and faithful high
priest in service to God,
and that he might make
atonement for the sins of
the people.
Only Jesus is able to
provide payment for our sin,
therefore a purgatory would
be excluded under God's
plan. If anything, the
closest thing to a purgatory
would be our lives here on
Earth. Here we need to
suffer because of sin, so
here we are a condition of
suffering, but not to
expiate our sins, since only
Jesus can do that.
After we die comes judgement:
2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all
appear before the judgment
seat of Christ, that each
one may receive what is due
him for the things done
while in the body, whether
good or bad.
Hebrews 9:27-28
Just as man is
destined to die once, and
after that to face judgment,
28 so Christ was sacrificed
once to take away the sins
of many people; and he will
appear a second time, not to
bear sin, but to bring
salvation to those who are
waiting for him.
We are now waiting for
Jesus; second appearing and
only those who have obeyed
the Gospel will be able to
receive His salvation:
2 Thessalonians 1:8-10
He will punish
those who do not know God
and do not obey the gospel
of our Lord Jesus. 9They
will be punished with
everlasting destruction and
shut out from the presence
of the Lord and from the
majesty of his power 10on
the day he comes to be
glorified in his holy people
and to be marveled at among
all those who have believed.
This includes you, because
you believed our testimony
to you.
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QUESTION:
Does the phrase, "Call
(Pray) Jesus into your
heart" or any similar phrase
appear in the bible?
The phrase “Call Jesus into
your heart” does not appear
in any real translation of
the Bible text from the
original languages into
English. For some excellent
information on how this
phrase originated you should
Google the name Charles
Finney, the man who fathered
it. According to him:
The church has always felt
it necessary to have
something of this kind to
answer this very purpose. In
the days of the apostles,
baptism answered this
purpose. The
gospel was preached to the
people, and then all
those who were willing to be
on the side of Christ, were
called out to be
baptized.
It held the place that
the anxious seat does now
as a public manifestation of
their determination to be
Christians.” Charles
Grandison Finney (1792-1875)
Note: The term “anxious
seat” is what religious
leaders call today “the
sinner’s prayer” or “the
altar call.” Finney
admits that in the days of
the apostles, the Gospel was
preached, and the people
responded in baptism (see
Mark 16:15-16).
He goes on to admit that the
“anxious seat” -- also know
as the “sinner’s prayer” --
replaced the purpose baptism
held. God’s Word says
baptism is for the remission
(forgiveness) of sins (Acts
2:38),
yet, many religious groups
today teach that the
“sinner’s prayer” is for the
forgiveness of sins. Mr.
Finney is right in saying, “It
[baptism] held the place
that the anxious seat does
now...”
“Call Jesus in to your
heart” is just another
variation of “Pray Jesus
into your heart”; both of
these are the “modern”
replacement of baptism.
Now which one would you
rather follow? What people
replaced from the Bible or
the words of God themselves? |
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QUESTION:
Due to the fact that God is
Omnipresent, does he have a
presence in Hell?
We know the Spirit of God is
everywhere, even in death (Sheol:
grave):
Psa 139:7-14
(7) Where shall I
go from your Spirit? Or
where shall I flee from your
presence?
(8) If I ascend to heaven,
you are there! If I make my
bed in Sheol, you are there!
(9) If I take the wings of
the morning and dwell in the
uttermost parts of the sea,
(10) even there your hand
shall lead me, and your
right hand shall hold me.
(11) If I say, "Surely the
darkness shall cover me, and
the light about me be
night,"
(12) even the darkness is
not dark to you; the night
is bright as the day, for
darkness is as light with
you.
(13) For you formed my
inward parts; you knitted me
together in my mother's
womb.
(14) I praise you, for I am
fearfully and wonderfully
made. Wonderful are your
works; my soul knows it very
well.
However, in this next
passage we understand that
the eternal fire prepared
for the devil and his angels
is set apart from God:
Mat 25:41 "Then
he will say to those on his
left, 'Depart from me, you
cursed, into the eternal
fire prepared for the devil
and his angels.
God will be everywhere
except in this eternal fire
which He prepares
specifically so it would be
apart from Him.
Notice that this place was
never intended for humans,
only for the devil and those
angels that followed him.
However, those who wish to
follow the devil and ignore
God or disobey God will also
end up in the fiery place.
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