FAQs
Questions about life
- Who am I?
- Am I a son, servant or friend of God?
- How to be content?
- What is the secret to Christian life?
- How does God deal with my sin?
- Does God love me when I sin?
- How does the Holy Spirit convict me?
- How do I know I’m saved?
- Can I lose my salvation?
- Who is an overcomer?
Questions about God
- God is good, but how good is he?
- Does God give and take away?
- What pleases the Lord?
- What is the fear of the Lord?
- Is grace a person?
- What does it mean to be one with the Lord?
- What does it mean to become like a little child?
- Does the Lord create evil?
Questions about the gospel
- There are many gospels – which one is the true gospel?
- What is this hyper-grace gospel I’ve heard about?
- What are some signs that I’m mixing grace with law?
- When is law the best medicine? When is grace?
- Should I do everything Jesus said?
- Did James preach a different gospel from Paul?
- Once saved, always saved?
- Is forgiveness like a debit card?
- Who are the hypergrace preachers?
Questions about the Bible
- How to read the Bible
- What makes the new covenant new?
- What is the law written on our hearts?
- What are the three purposes of the law?
- How should we read the words of Jesus?
- What about the commands of Jesus?
- What does it mean to “forsake your first love”?
- What does it mean to “rightly divide” the word of truth?
- Do Christians need to confess their sins to be forgiven?
- Is God’s forgiveness conditional on us forgiving others?
- Am I completely forgiven? Yes or no?
- Have I committed the unforgivable sin?
- Did God hand Job over to Satan?
- Is Satan God’s sheepdog?
- Did Jesus put pricetags on forgiveness?
- What about those who say “Lord, Lord” and are sent away?
- What really happens to unfruitful branches?
- What are heavenly treasures?
- When did the old covenant end?
- Is Job a type of Jesus?
- Why did Jesus send letters to angels?
- How do we become lukewarm?
- Is the Bible sexist?
Questions about church
- What makes a church a family?
- How do I recognize a grace church?
- What happens to Christians who stray?
- Can unbelievers take communion?
- How do I recognize a nose-punching preacher?
- I find it hard to get excited about church. Does that mean I’m lukewarm?
- Do grace preachers disregard the words of Jesus?
- Is religion good or bad or both?
- Should I tithe?
- Should women be silent in church?
- Are women permitted to teach?
- What does it mean to remove a church’s lampstand?
- Who are the pillars in the church?
Questions about healing
- What is the unforgivable sin?
- Why take communion when you’re sick?
- What makes Jesus sick?
- How can I deal with all this guilt?
- Is persistent prayer the key to breakthrough?
- How do I deal with unanswered prayer?
- Does God give poverty to teach us things?
- What does it mean to work out your salvation with fear and trembling?
Questions about the end times…
- When is the second coming?
- When are the last days?
- When is the Great Tribulation?
- What about the rapture?
- Who is the Antichrist?
- What is the sign of the Son of Man in heaven?
Just for laughs…
For questions about specific scriptures, check out E2R’s Scripture Index.
For questions about specific subjects, check out E2R’s Subject Index.
Updated June 18, 2020.
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40 Comments on FAQs
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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
This is a very big and complicated topic, so let me give you my considered and thought out answer to your question.
Yes.
If you need more you could read this and this.
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
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?
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.
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.
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.
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?
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!
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.
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.
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???
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.”
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)
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.
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
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.
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.
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…. (:-(
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
Can you eloborate on that
“…but sometimes God’s apparent silences can be significant.” Yes Paul Ellis can you please elaborate on what you mean by this? TY!
Feedly (free, iOS and Android), Reeder 2 (iOS, not free), and gReader Pro (Android, not free).
Thanks Doug.
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
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.
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!
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!
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)
Try this post.
You mentioned in your one blog post how the Holy spirit stopped you from marrying the wrong woman. How did He do this?
I’m racking my brain. Can you remember which post that was?