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When a person dies, where does his or her spirit and body go until the Second Coming?
Throughout its history, the church has struggled with the concept of what is called the “intermediate state”—our position between the time we die and the time Christ consummates his kingdom and fulfills the promises that we confess in the Apostles’ …Read More
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Has Satan been given dominion over the earth until Jesus returns? If so, why was he given this authority?
There’s only one supreme Lord over all the world, and that’s God. We are told in the Old Testament that this whole concept of dominion was shared with Adam and Eve. Man was given dominion over the earth to be …Read More
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Does God frown upon interracial marriages?
Some people insist that the Bible meant for the races to remain pure, therefore prohibiting any kind of interracial marriage. Usually two biblical texts are drawn upon to support that view. One is the fact that Noah had three sons, …Read More
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Is there a difference between being baptized with the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit?
At times when we read the New Testament record of those who are baptized in the Spirit or filled with the Spirit, it seems that these terms are used interchangeably, that they refer to the same phenomenon. At other times …Read More
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What does the Apostles’ Creed mean when it says that Jesus descended into hell?
The Apostles’ Creed is used as an integral form of worship in many Christian bodies. One of the more puzzling statements in that creed is: [Jesus] descended into hell. First of all, we have to look at the creed from …Read More
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When Jesus says, “Be ye perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect,” does that mean we can attain perfection, and should we?
There are a couple of things we need to understand about this statement. In the first place, the word that is translated “perfect” literally means “be complete.” So often, the New Testament and the Old Testament will describe people as …Read More
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Why would a loving and holy God allow a child to suffer through a serious illness such as cancer?
We usually associate the love of God with the benefits we receive from Him and the blessings that come from His kind and merciful hand. Because His love usually manifests itself in good things that happen to us, we sometimes …Read More
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Did Jesus ever laugh? What do the Scriptures tell us about his character and sense of humor?
I’ve heard some people answer this question in the negative by saying that laughter is always a sign of frivolity and a thinly veiled attempt to make light of things that are sober. They say life is a sober matter; …Read More
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In Numbers 14 it appears that Moses changed the mind of God. How can you explain this?
“To change one’s mind,” in the New Testament, means to repent. When the Bible speaks of my repenting or your repenting, it means that we are called to change our minds or our dispositions with respect to sin—that we are …Read More
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Can you repent at the moment of death and still have the same salvation as someone who’s been a Christian for many years?
That’s a tricky question, but I think it’s a fascinating one and certainly one that many people are concerned about. We talk about foxhole faith, when people cry out in desperate moments of crisis or postpone to their deathbed the …Read More
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How does one convince a nonbeliever that the Bible is the Word of God?
Before I try to answer that question directly, let me make a distinction that is important at the outset. There’s a difference between objective proof and the persuasion or conviction that follows. John Calvin argued that the Bible carries both …Read More
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In Acts 16 Paul encourages Timothy to be circumcised, then later condemns it. Was he being hypocritical?
I don’t think the apostle was being hypocritical at all. This is a very interesting historical situation that the New Testament records for us. It does say that Paul circumcised Timothy and then refused to circumcise Titus, and this became …Read More
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What does it mean for us to call God our Father?
One of the most well-known statements of the Christian faith is the Lord’s Prayer, which begins with the words “Our Father which art in heaven.” This is part of the universal treasury of Christendom. When I hear Christians in a …Read More
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Scripture says that Christ stated the unforgivable sin as being blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Can you expand on that, and how should I pray for someone committing that sin?
There’s a lot of confusion over the sin that Jesus says cannot be forgiven either in this world or in the world to come. Some people think that the unforgivable sin is murder because the Old Testament gives us such …Read More
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Throughout the Bible we are told to fear God. What does that mean?
We need to make some important distinctions about the biblical meaning of “fearing” God. These distinctions can be helpful, but they can also be a little dangerous. When Luther struggled with that, he made this distinction, which has since become …Read More
