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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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What is the significance of baptism?
Just as an aside, the word significance has as its root the word sign. A sign is something that points to something beyond itself. We all recognize that whatever baptism signifies, Jesus obviously thought it was very important because he …Read More
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What is a Christian’s responsibility to government?
The New Testament gives us some broad principles on how we are supposed to respond to government. For example, Romans 13 elaborates on the origin and institution of government as something that God ordains. The great theologian Augustine said that …Read More
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Do we stand before God in judgment upon death or later?
We have to make a distinction, as I think the Bible does, between the judgment that we receive immediately upon our death, at which we are brought before Christ, and what the Bible speaks of as the last judgment. There’s …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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What is the biblical basis for human dignity?
As a Christian I do not believe that human beings have intrinsic dignity. I am totally committed to the idea that human beings have dignity, but the question is, is it intrinsic or extrinsic? Dignity, by biblical definition, is tied …Read More
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How should Christian values impact business ethics in the office?
I remember having a discussion a few years ago in the boardroom of one of the Fortune 500 corporations here in the United States. I was speaking to the chairman of the board, the president, and several vice presidents of …Read More
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Will we recognize each other in heaven?
No specific biblical reference declares explicitly that we will recognize each other. But the implicit teaching of Scripture is so overwhelming that I don’t think there’s really any doubt that we will be able to recognize each other in heaven. …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
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If God is all powerful, then why does he allow suffering?
A recent controversial book on this matter was titled When Bad Things Happen to Good People. A common objection to religion is, How can anybody believe in God in light of all of the suffering that we see and experience …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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Should a woman hold an office in a church?
Some people view the controversy over women’s leadership in church as simply a collision between two view-points—one that espouses women’s liberation of one form or another, and the other, die-hard male chauvinism. But that’s a simplistic approach to the very …Read More
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What should be the Christian stand on the death penalty?
I’m convinced that our whole criminal justice system is in serious need of reformation and restructuring because it is not working and many inequities exist within it. Christians are divided about the issue of capital punishment. First, there is the …Read More
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Is it being narrow-minded for Christians to say Christ is the only way?
Well, it certainly can be an expression of narrow-mindedness for a Christian to say that Christ is the only way. I’ll never forget the first time someone asked me that. I was in college, and my college professor looked me …Read More
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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
