FAQs

Questions about life

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Questions about the end times…

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For questions about specific scriptures, check out E2R’s Scripture Index.

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Updated June 18, 2020.

46 Comments on FAQs

Hoong Poh Cheok // September 28, 2011 at 6:57 pm // Reply

Hi, is there a link to this topic of ‘once saved forever saved?’ I am caught with this by some friends who challenge on this. Please explain
- Paul Ellis // September 28, 2011 at 8:12 pm // Reply
  
  Here you go.
  - michael // May 16, 2013 at 5:47 pm //
    
    hai paul, my name is michael, from malaysia, i have been reading joseph prince destined to reign and i am greatly blessed, recently i encounter two particular verse which is very disturbing, the 1st one is hebrews 13:4, and 1 thessalonians 4:3-8, if jesus work was perfect why do we have to b judge by god and perform for our sanctification, didnt jesus perfect work cleanse us once for all, this is my question kindly look into it, i am quite disturb by the verse
andy bradice // February 19, 2012 at 7:05 am // Reply

Hi Paul, thanks for responding. Ill get roght to the point, we are talking about our identification and position with christ. This would include co-crufixon, co buriel , co ressurection, thus would that not apply to only believers? Or are you saying everyone who ever lived past, present and future was on the cross with christ? My understanding is that those who have placed faith in christ past, present and future the elect of god were with christ 2000 years ago. What is your your view on this?
- Paul Ellis // February 19, 2012 at 3:38 pm // Reply
  
  Andy, I think you meant to post your comment under this post. Please see my comment #10 under that post for a detailed response. Thanks.
Nancy // February 20, 2012 at 5:49 am // Reply

If you teach the Mosaic law are you going Hell. Thank you Nancy Very important question a preacher who is dying now thinks he may be going to Hell because of this.
- Paul Ellis // February 20, 2012 at 7:26 am // Reply
  
  Nobody goes to hell for preaching the law. We are saved by grace through faith alone. Your works (e.g., preaching) don’t come into it.
Cara // April 3, 2012 at 8:18 pm // Reply

Hi! One of my friends told me about GOD being Just. DO you have a post regarding this? It’s one of the things we’re interested in knowing what to say to a person if you let him know about God’s new covenant and he will tell you that GOD is just and will punish sins?
- Paul Ellis // April 6, 2012 at 9:44 am // Reply
  
  Cara, God is indeed just which is very good news for us because it means He will not and cannot punish us for our sins – Jesus has already paid the price! Before I understood the significance of the cross, I used to ask for mercy instead of justice. But now that I better understand what Christ has done and that I am eternally forgiven and righteous, I thank God for justice!
Marsh Noblitt // August 24, 2012 at 1:59 am // Reply

Paul (the apostle) cautions believers to walk ‘circumspect fully’ because our adversary, the Devil, goes around like a roaring loin seeking who he may devour. Should believers ‘self-evaluate’, looking for sin to bring to Jesus? (not for the reason of getting forgiven or even a feeling of getting closer). In regard to keeping a vigilant eye on sin in your personal life, do you ‘just fogetaboutit’ and trust Jesus to bring to mind what is needful or do you take a more proactive approach? I believe the ‘power of sin’ is still active and looking victims.
- Paul Ellis // August 24, 2012 at 8:30 am // Reply
  
  Hi Marsh,
  Peter exhorts us to be sober and vigilant because our adversary, who is a defeated enemy, fancies himself as a lion on the hunt. There is nothing in the context of 1 Pet 5:8 that suggests “sober and vigilant” should be interpreted as self-examination for Peter is a preacher of the new covenant, not the old. We resist the devil by standing firm in the faith, which means, not agreeing with the devil’s baseless accusations and lies. The devil will point to your sin and say “How dare you call yourself a Christian” but faith will point to the cross and say “I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.”
  
  Peter and James say almost the same thing – we resist the devil by submitting to God (1 Pet 5:6; Jas 4:7). They both preach true humility, which comes from seeing oneself through the lens of the finished work, and not false humility which comes through self-righteous, self-examination.
  
  I agree that sin is active and destructive and has desires and lusts. But my old life that lived susceptible to sin was crucified with Christ and no longer lives (Gal 2:20). I am a new creation, as are all in Christ. Sin is not part of our vocab which may be why Peter never mentions our sin once, in either of his letters, except in a passing reference to our “past sins” in 2 Pet 1:9.
Matt // October 10, 2012 at 9:49 am // Reply

Hi Paul

You may have answered this elsewhere on your site so apologies if I am repeating something here. I am really, really blessed by your site, you know I was praying for God to help me understand stuff especially around 1 John 1:9 which I have been bogged down for years, many people treat that verse as relational/parental forgiveness but that always troubled me, you are either forgiven or you aren’t hey?..anyway back to my point..How do you see the the section of scripture that says Gods discipline is a sign of his love??..The whole concept of god disciplining us as father???
- Paul Ellis // October 11, 2012 at 7:32 am // Reply
  
  Hi Matt,
  Like most “problem” verses, the problem stems from a difference in meaning between the English and Greek words. Look up the word for discipline (paideuo) in a lexicon and you will see that it means training and educating. Like any good father, “the Lord trains up and educates those he loves.”
John // November 7, 2012 at 6:22 am // Reply

Hi Paul,

How do you understand the words ‘Jesus is Lord’, in the context of Romans 10:9?
I hear so much at the minute about accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and saviour that I don’t know if I need to see Jesus as more than my God, saviour and friend…hope you can point me in the right direction!
Thanks again for everything you’ve put up on here, and your book; its been life changing.
(P.S. is that a tiny smile in the very bottom left hand side of the screen? Brilliant :-D)
- Paul Ellis // November 7, 2012 at 7:17 am // Reply
  
  It’s a question of kingship. Just as Adam had to choose a king (himself or God), so do you and I. Will we trust ourselves or him? The word for Lord means supreme ruler. It means Jesus is on the throne. The Bible says that every knee will bow in acknowledgement of his kingship. Some bow now out of love; others will bow later out of regret and terror.
michael // May 20, 2013 at 4:29 pm // Reply

hai paul, my name is michael, from malaysia, i have been reading joseph prince destined to reign and i am greatly blessed, recently i encounter two particular verse which is very disturbing, the 1st one is hebrews 13:4, and 1 thessalonians 4:3-8, if jesus work was perfect why do we have to b judge by god and perform for our sanctification, didnt jesus perfect work cleanse us once for all, this is my question kindly look into it, i am quite disturb by the verse
Jaziel // July 13, 2013 at 7:54 am // Reply

I was struck by a thought. “what made or (why did) God introduce the 10 commandments” after reading exodus 19, I began to have some clarity but I would like to know what is your perspective on this.
- Squawks 5000 // August 31, 2018 at 5:08 pm // Reply
  
  Notice that God didn’t IMMEDIATELY gave the 10 after they left Egypt. In Exodus 15-16, the Israelites complained rather than trusted. From the lack of trust, the Israelites do not know how to “love God” or “love their neighbor as themselves.” As a result, Moses gave the Israelites the 10 in Exodus 20. The Israelites claimed that they would follow the 10, but it was all flesh and little trust, and they failed (calf), resulting in more laws.
Steven // September 20, 2013 at 3:31 am // Reply

I have read that God’s wrath at sin has been fully appeased or satisfied in the blood of Christ, but can anyone on this planet tell me how this can possibly fit in with eschatology (The End Of The Age). HEEEEEELP!!!! I am really having a hard time with this…. (:-(
- Paul Ellis // September 20, 2013 at 8:28 am // Reply
  
  Romans tells us that God condemned sin in the flesh (ie: on the cross). Sin is no longer the problem. But his wrath is being revealed, and will be revealed, against ungodliness (Rom 1:18), ie: those things that are opposed to him. Light and dark cannot coexist.
Joy // October 23, 2013 at 4:11 pm // Reply

Hi Paul, would you mind sharing which translation/version of the Bible you find to be the most useful in the walk of the spirit? I just read your post on guilt, and about how certain translations add words like “guilt”. I completely understand no Bible is a bad Bible, but I was just curious as to your view on this! (I would have asked this question on the guilt post, but I was not sure if this might be off topic for that one!) Thank you, or anyone else who has an opinion!
- Paul Ellis // October 23, 2013 at 5:52 pm // Reply
  
  The best translation is the one you actually read. For some it’s the KJV, for others it’s the GNB. Both choices are fine. I talk about my preferences here.
buyingthetruth // September 9, 2014 at 7:46 am // Reply

Paul, I am reading through your book “The Gospel in Tewnty Questions.” It is fantastic. I really needed this at this point in my walk. I have read so much over the past couple of years it feels as if I have so many different commentaries swirling around. What you write about the character of God is awesome. I love how when met with a seemingly contradictory nature of God in the OT and Jesus, you remind us to lean on the scriptues about Jesus being the full revelation, and complete imprssion of God. However, there was a comment/note on one of the chapters that said you need to recognize that God will fight for His family if their mistreated. Does this square with your reasoning that ….in general…if we dont see something being a part of Jesus’ character than it really is not God’s character? For example, Jesus never destroyed whole cities, etc. I know God doesn’t change, but the way he relates to and deals with us might change. However, it is conceivable that there is a set of circumstances that would present themselves where God felt His family was being mostreated and would act appropriately. Thoughts? Thanks for all your work and writings, they are a real treasure to me and I am sharing them with my kids.
- Star Saiyan // April 24, 2020 at 8:09 am // Reply
  
  This is one of the toughest questions in Bible history. In the comment thread from gracethroughfaith783 from article “What about God’s Wrath?”, there’s some more useful information.
  
  The short answer is that the cities back then are way worse than the cities at Jesus’s time. Paul said it in another article — God never changes; we do. How bad are those cities? Even if we low-bound offenses to standards from the modern world (rather than God), the cities still do some nasty stuff — heavy prostitution (spreads STDs), child sacrifice. It’s even possible that said cities can be problem to other groups. That’s why various cities were destroyed back in the OT, but around that era, there are no cities that meet the threshold.
  
  Even then, there are also other checks, too. Abraham had a similar question on city wipeouts in Genesis 18, and God officially stated that if a city has at least 10 good people (it does count sinners like Lot and Rahab because “good” is from perspective of Abraham), the city is spared. Even then, God ensures that the righteous are safe (as seen in Lot and Rahab). Additionally, various verses in Jeremiah and Ezekiel say that God is sad for those people who do really crappy stuff and wants them to repent. In fact, God has spared cities for repenting (as seen in Jonah).
  
  Again, answering questions like this is very tough, and check out Paul’s article “What about God’s Wrath” for more info.
Paul Jackson // November 23, 2014 at 7:18 am // Reply

Something is wrong with your subject index links. Whenever I click a link it opens up my podcast app but doesn’t access the posts under that subject. This happens on my iPad. I thought I’d report that to you.
- Paul Ellis // November 23, 2014 at 11:15 am // Reply
  
  That’s interesting, since there are no podcasts here. You will need a RSS feed reader from the app store to read this. I’m not an iPad user. Perhaps someone else would like to recommend a feed reader for the iPad.
Henry // November 23, 2014 at 10:58 am // Reply

Hi Paul, what do you do when passing through a wilderness experience where it seems as if nothing is working and God is not saying anything about a particular situation you have been praying for a while?
- Paul Ellis // November 23, 2014 at 1:48 pm // Reply
  
  As a famous preacher once said – was it Spurgeon? – if you’re going through hell, keep going! Haha.
  
  I’m reluctant to comment on your specific situation because I don’t know it, but sometimes God’s apparent silences can be significant.
  - Alwaysfaith // September 6, 2017 at 5:46 am //
    
    Can you eloborate on that
  - Jason // August 16, 2019 at 12:59 pm //
    
    “…but sometimes God’s apparent silences can be significant.” Yes Paul Ellis can you please elaborate on what you mean by this? TY!
Doug Sewell // November 23, 2014 at 11:59 am // Reply

Feedly (free, iOS and Android), Reeder 2 (iOS, not free), and gReader Pro (Android, not free).
- Paul Ellis // November 23, 2014 at 1:44 pm // Reply
  
  Thanks Doug.
Steven // January 29, 2015 at 6:04 am // Reply

Hello Paul,

I recently had a thought that kind of puzzles me.
Here is my basic understanding of God’s laws (The Ten Commandments).
Please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
These laws were meant for the Hebrew people only and simply because
that is what they chose instead of having a relationship with God himself.
The laws were not meant for today’s believers of Jesus. Jesus came to fulfill the requirements of the law and setting the human race free from our inability
to live up to this absolute perfect and holy standard.I do believe That God’s
desire for us is to be in a perfect personal relationship with him.After saying
all of that, why did he forbid Adam from eating from the tree of knowledge of
good and evil? I understand that it would and has brought death and corruption, but would that be a form of having to live under a law? Was it simply to show that man was free to decide?

Steven
- Star Saiyan // April 24, 2020 at 7:55 am // Reply
  
  Pretty interesting question. Hopefully this helps.
  
  Technically, there are some laws (don’t murder, don’t adultery) that are in place for all eras. The point of laws is to make sure that we don’t screw ourselves rather than trying to appease God. This is the most important.
  
  However, the “Law” that many talk about often refers to the Mosaic Law. The specific rules for the Israelites including the 10 Commandments, civil system, and dietary restrictions. THAT law is not in place today — the only real use is to demonstrate that we can’t keep God’s law ourselves.
  
  As for eating the apple, the first effect in Genesis is not God kicking Adam and Eve out of the garden. The first effect is Adam and Eve realizing that they are naked and carrying on heavy shame. It’s likely that the Tree of Knowledge contains info that they couldn’t handle at that time.
  
  The main purpose of law (in government, too) is to make sure that we don’t screw ourselves and other people (which would ruin relationships) — NOT “I gotta do this and not that in order for God to love me”. Thus, even though there are still laws, people abiding in Jesus don’t really live under laws because living in Jesus pretty much covers it.
Mary Donchess // June 1, 2015 at 6:47 am // Reply

I have been reading your blog and really enjoy your teaching. Could you ease explain 1 Corinthians 5? It doesn’t make sense when I read it with my grace glasses on. I know there must be church discipline, but….
Thank you!
- Star Saiyan // April 24, 2020 at 7:49 am // Reply
  
  Paul wrote 1 Corinthians in response to church folk who trust Jesus but screw around in all sorts of ways. Right from the start, Paul emphasizes that they are in Jesus and blessed by him [1 Cor 1]. So salvation/link to God is not an issue. However, sin still ruins the lives of oneself and most importantly, other people.
  
  The major action Paul talks about in 1 Cor 5 is separation from fellowship, as seen in 1 Cor 5:2,9-13. God wants us to love our neighbor as ourselves, but sometimes, being close to a really bad influence isn’t a good idea. You’ve probably heard about the impact of peer pressure. Thus, breaking fellowship is done to reduce influence. A similar action is done when a very disruptive kid is pulled out of class for discipline. In particular, during separation, one “gives this man to Satan” (in 1 Cor 5:5) via letting this person get impacted by sin’s recoil damage. It’s worth noting that the actions are PRESENT actions (because of practicality) — we shouldn’t break fellowship with people who used to have said problem (otherwise pretty much no one can be in fellowship).
  
  Don’t forget that Paul does not say that we should completely lock ourselves out from unbelievers. He said the opposite in 1 Cor 5:10!
Warren (South Carolina) // June 18, 2015 at 8:08 am // Reply

Paul,
I don’t see anywhere (so far) on E2R your understanding (or definition) of grace.

My understanding (from Jim Richards) is: God’s power, ability, and strength, which enables us to live in righteousness, that works through the heart, and comes by unmerited favor. I think I should add that, God’s grace is accessed or flows through faith.

Obviously grace is very misunderstood and abused by many and it would be awesome to find out your understanding of grace. Faith is also a very misused and misunderstood word by most of the Bride.

Blessings,
Warren (South Carolina)
- Paul Ellis // June 18, 2015 at 10:42 am // Reply
  
  Try this post.
deborahchater // May 4, 2017 at 5:34 am // Reply

You mentioned in your one blog post how the Holy spirit stopped you from marrying the wrong woman. How did He do this?
- Paul Ellis // May 4, 2017 at 6:54 am // Reply
  
  I’m racking my brain. Can you remember which post that was?
JA Bedia // April 29, 2021 at 9:39 am // Reply

Can you give me some insights about preterism? thanks.
- Paul Ellis // April 29, 2021 at 9:48 am // Reply
  
  You should probably visit a preterist website for that.
M. Caleb Sannoh // May 12, 2021 at 6:42 pm // Reply

Hello Paul,
Hope you and your family are well. One of your first books I read was HYPER GRACE GOSPEL. When I ordered the GOSPEL IN TWENTY QUESTIONS (hyper grace gospel 2), I realized that the content is almost identical to the HYPER GRACE GOSPEL. When I checked out HYPER GRACE GOSPEL on Amazon again, I noticed that it says, “HYPERGRACE BOOK 3). So, where is HYPER GRACE BOOK 1?

Also, I was searching for a commentary on the authority of the believer. I went to E2R to check out Rom 8:37. In the scripture index, I saw TQ17. However, in the two books I have (Hyper Grace 2 and 3), there is no chapter 17. Since there is a reference to Hyper Grace book 2 & 3, could the TQ17 be referring to a chapter in book 1? (I still can’t locate book 1). I have THE GOSPEL IN TWENTY QUESTIONS. There is Part A, B and C, just like in HYPER GRACE GOSPEL, but I see no chapters. How do I look up TQ17? I have the electronic versions of these books.

Thanks for your help.

Caleb.
- Paul Ellis // May 12, 2021 at 6:51 pm // Reply
  
  Hi Caleb,
  
  There are three distinct books in the series: (1) The Gospel in Ten Words, (2) The Gospel in Twenty Questions, and (3) The Hyper-Grace Gospel.
  
  We uploaded revised content at the end of last year and I must’ve been tired because I uploaded the same file for two books. Kindle picked up the problem pretty and it was quickly fixed, but it seems you may have downloaded a book during that time. Sorry about that.
  
  If you download the Twenty Questions book again, you will get the right file this time and you shouldn’t have to pay for it. Alternatively, you can get it here for free.
  
  Blessings,
  Paul
Elizabeth // June 13, 2021 at 6:23 am // Reply

Hello, do you have any articles on predestination
- Paul Ellis // June 13, 2021 at 8:06 am // Reply
  
  No, but you can find my thoughts on the subject on the Grace Commentary.