Questions & Answers

ANSWERS

I am quite confused about the relationship between God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. How are they related? If Jesus is God and God is God then do we have 2 Gods?

The Bible teaches us that there is only one God (" Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD" Deuteronomy 6:4). But God exists in three persons ("...baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" - Matthew 28:19 - notice that it is "name" and not "names", indicating that there is only one God). Jesus showed that He and the Father are only One God when He said "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30). They are related as follows: The Father sent The Son (John 3:16) and the Father and the Son sent the Spirit (John 14:26; 15:26).

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Is sprinkling the right mode of baptism, since baptism is meant to be a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (Romans 6:4)? None can be buried with a little bit of soil.

1) Biblically, Jesus was not "buried" as in being covered over with earth below ground level. His body was laid in a sepulchre, which is a cave hewn out of rock above ground level with several chambers for placing dead bodies. Hence the body of Jesus was never underground.

1 Corinthians 15:3,4 - "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures."

John 20:5-7 - "And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself."

2) The tomb in which Jesus was laid was like the tomb in which Lazarus was laid, from which he could walk out (not climb out) when the stone was removed from the entrance:

John 11:38,43,44 - "Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. ...And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes"

3) The word "thapto" that is translated as "bury" in Romans 6:4 ("Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death") simply means to put into a grave, or to entomb, or to honour with funeral rites. e.g.

Matthew 8:21,22 - "And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead."

Romans 6:4 can thus be translated: "Therefore we are ‘funeralised’ with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."

Hence there is no necessity for a person to be plunged underwater when he is baptised. Baptism is properly administered by sprinkling.

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What or Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is God -- He is not a force (implied by the word ‘what’ you used) as no one can lie to a force ("But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." – Acts 5:3,4 - Notice that in the first part it is ‘lie to the Holy Ghost’ and in the last part it is ‘lie unto God.’)

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Explain the difference between "indwelling of the Holy Spirit" and the "Filling of the Holy Spirit"

In short, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is permanent while the filling of the Holy Spirit is not permanent. A believer can be indwelt but not filled with the Spirit. We do not need to seek the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. God does this to us once and for all the moment we are saved, and we can never lose it. That is why there is no commandment in the Bible to be indwelt, while there is a commandment to be filled or led by the Spirit.

Let us look at some passages of scripture on the indwelling of the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 3:16 – "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" Romans 8:11 – "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." 2 Timothy 1:14 – "That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us." In all these verses we notice how Paul simply assumes that Christians are indwelt by the Spirit – i.e. it is stated as a fact that is true of all born-again Christians. Romans 8:9 – "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." It is therefore quite clear that every true believer is indwelt with the Spirit of God.

But now look at passages about the filling of the Spirit: Firstly we see that some believers are described as being ‘full of the Holy Spirit’ Acts 6:3 – "Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business." Acts 11:24 – "For he [Barnabas] was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord." Is this filling only reserved for a special elite group of Christians, who serve the Lord well? No, because the command is given to all in Ephesians 5:18 – "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit"

Hence the filling of the Spirit is up to us – ideally we should be filled all the time, but it is possible to lose the filling of the spirit because of the old sinful nature in us. This experience is described by Paul himself in Romans 7:19,20 – "For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me." Then He mentions how to overcome the flesh, in Romans 8:1,2 – "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."

The term ‘walking in the Spirit’ implies an ongoing, daily effort of keeping in step with the Holy Spirit. Cf. Galatians 5:16-18 – "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."

Hence it is clear that being filled with the Spirit, is dependent on the believer’s initiative. We must consciously yield ourselves to the Spirit’s leading and working within us.

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When we pray, whom do we call out to? God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit?

We pray to God in all three persons, though prayers are usually addressed to the Father. But it makes no difference to address prayers to Jesus. "And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." - Acts 7:59.

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If we call out to Jesus, then why do we say, "all these we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen"?

John 16:23,24 -- "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."

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Can the blood of Jesus which had been shed 2000 years ago still wash away our sins?

Yes, though it has already been shed 2000 years ago, the blood of Jesus still washes away our sins (1 John 1:7 - "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."). An analogy will help to understand this better. If someone signed a will 50 years ago, the will still remains in effect till today and has the power to grant the inheritor the right to inherit the property.

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How do we know the books in the Bible that were written by Paul, Peter etc. are true and guided by God? Are they also not sinners like anyone of us? How sure are we that they were writing the truth?

The writers of the books of the Bible said that their books were written by inspiration of God. E.g. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Timothy 3:16,17, cf 2 Peter 1:21). Paul said this in 1 Corinthians 2:12,13 -- "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual."

Peter acknowledged that Paul’s writings were part of the Scriptures inspired by God -- "even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruction." (2 Peter 3:15,16)

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The Peter who wrote some of the books in the Bible; is he the same man who denied Jesus three times before the cock crowed? If he is the same Peter, then he is not fit to write about Jesus because he denied Jesus. Shouldn’t he be cast into eternal hell like Judas who betrayed Jesus?

Yes, Peter who denied Jesus 3 times was the same Peter who wrote some books of the Bible (ie. 1 Peter and 2 Peter). But unlike Judas, Peter repented of His sin (which was done out of fear for his own life, rather than out of malicious intent, as was the case for Judas’ betrayal) and was restored by Jesus Christ in John 21:15-27). All writers of the books of the Bible were in fact sinners who were mercifully forgiven and cleansed by God (e.g. Isaiah 6:5-7).

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If God is the creator of heaven and earth and the Almighty, then why does He need to send His only begotten son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins? He could easily destroy Satan and sins and the people who sin. Why go through all those difficulties?

God is able to do anything - so long as He wills to do it. He will never will to do anything contrary to His attributes of wisdom, holiness, justice, and love.

God can take away the sin of the world now if He wanted to, but that may mean another Great Flood like in the time of Noah, with many deaths and few survivors - since all men are sinners (Romans 3:23). A time is coming when God, in His justice, will execute judgment on the sins of the world and put an end to all suffering. But God, in His love, has deliberately delayed that time, as 2 Peter 3:9,10 tells us -- " The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up."

Instead of judging the world now for all its sins, God, in His wisdom, has made a powerful plan of salvation that is more effective in taking away sin: By sending His Son to die on the cross for sin. Only people who turn to Jesus Christ can have their sins taken away from their lives, and their hearts are changed so that they will grow to sin less and less. Remember that we are not robots that can be instantly altered. It takes time for moral creatures like us with our own will to repent and change. It would be nice to have our sins taken away immediately so that we can never sin again and would no longer have to struggle with this problem every day. But God, in His wisdom and love, wants His children to go through the process of learning to depend fully and consciously upon Him to overcome sin and temptation.

Paul said in Romans 7:22 -8:2 "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."

The remedy we need is found in Galatians 5:16 -- "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh."

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If God is the Creator of everything, then is He also the Creator of Satan and sins as well?

When God created all things there was no sin. Genesis 1:31 -- "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." But He made man and angels like Lucifer who became Satan [which means the adversary when he rebelled against God’s authority (Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28] to have their own free will to choose to obey Him or disobey Him. Sin came into the universe when both Satan and man chose to disobey God on their own will. Hence God did not create sin.

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Some historians claim that people evolved from apes! And they seem to have evidence. The Bible tells us that God created Adam (man) and Eve (woman). Were Adam and Eve apes?

No, Adam and Eve were not apes, but were exactly like all people living today. The fossil evidence that is alleged to prove that man came from apes is not convincing. Some have been proven to be the remains of extinct species of apes; other fossils have proven to be the remains of people who lived a long time ago. There are scientists who have shown that there is no link between man and apes. Only man is created with the image of God in him. All other creatures do not have this image of God which consists of Knowledge, Righteousness and Holiness. "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." (Genesis 1:26,27)

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Does God make mistakes? He wiped out all the people on earth once (except Noah and his family). That did not solve the problem for very long...people committed sins again.... God sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross for sinners.....Jesus will come again to judge the people and create a new earth. Will people from the new earth sin again, will this process go on and on and on... ?

God never makes mistakes. He cannot, since He already knows the future and the outcome of everything. "for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:" (Isaiah 46:9,10)

God does all things with one purpose -- to glorify Himself. Even the Flood was designed to accomplish that purpose. "What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?" (Romans 9:22-24)

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Jesus is often referred to as Son of Man. He is also Son of God. So who is Jesus? Is he the Son of Man or Son of God?

He is both. The title ‘Son of Man’ shows that he is a full human being, like all of us (Hebrews 2:14 -- " Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;") The title ‘Son of God’ shows that he is God Himself -- (read Hebrews 1:5-8)

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The Bible seems to talk only about the Jews. God seems to bless the Israelites more then the Egyptians. God blessed only some chosen people. Will we one day realise that the God whom we are worshipping is not our God? Not a God who love us...but a God who loves only the Jews?

The Bible clearly tells us that God loves the world (John 3:16,17 - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."). But when God began to reveal his plan of salvation, he began with one man -- Abram (Genesis 12:1-3 -- "Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." - Notice that even here, he already revealed His plan to bless all families of the earth.). Out of that man came the Jews, to whom God entrusted all the teachings of Himself and the writings of Scripture. Through them God brought Jesus into the world, as Jesus was a direct descendant of Abraham.

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How do we know that we are worshipping the right God?

Jesus said - " But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:23,24) We are worshipping the right God if we worship Him in spirit (i.e. not thinking of God as being found in some stone idol or physical object) and in truth (i.e. according to the truths about Himself that He alone has revealed to us in the Bible).

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When we meet with difficulties and problems, how do we know that God is punishing us or testing us?

Christ has borne the punishment for all the sins of God’s people on the cross at Calvary. If born again Christians have been living in disobedience to God, the difficulty may be a chastisement from God. Chastisement is different from punishment - Chastisement is meted by God out of love with the purpose of drawing the disobedient person back to God (Deut 8:5; Prov 3:12). Sometimes it is difficult for us to tell if God is chastising us or simply testing us. The Bible shows us that Job did not know until everything was over. But one thing we know: "...all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

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Why does God sometimes answers prayers and at other times He doesn’t?

This is not due to any negligence or inconsistency on the part of God. If our prayers are not answered it may be due to one or more of the following reasons: We ask for the wrong things or for selfish reasons (James 4:3 -- "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts."); We are living in sin and disobedience to God and have not repented (Psalm 66:18 -- " If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:"). Sometimes it God answers our prayers but we do not perceive it -- His answer may be: ‘No’ or ‘Wait and be patient’.

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If God already knows our heart, why does He need to test us?

The process of testing if for our benefit -- it refines our faith, and draws us nearer to God. (1 Peter 1:7 -- "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:")

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Some people claim that God speaks to them. Is it true that God speaks to some people? How is it that I have never heard God speaking to me?

God does not ordinarily speak to His people in an audible voice today. Those who claim to see visions of God or hear Him speaking to them all the time may be misled by their own imagination or even by some deception of Satan. God has chosen to speak to His people through His written Word, the Bible. (2 Peter 1:16-19 -- "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:")

When a born again Christian reads the Bible, the Holy Spirit takes the words he reads and personalises it to him. As a result, he becomes deeply convicted that the words he reads are meant for him personally. In this sense, a Christian can say, "The Lord spoke to me."(1 Cor 2:10-16).

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Islam Religion and its teachings seems to be very close to the teachings of the old testament of the Bible. They have prophets like Abraham etc. too. They circumcise young boys, they fast, muslim women are suppose to cover their heads etc. All these are teachings in the Bible as well. Funny thing is though these are in the Bible, Christians are not practising it. I think the greatest difference between these two religions is that Muslims do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God. They say that Jesus is not God. What went wrong? Is there any connection between Christianity and Islam?

Islam was founded about 600 years after Christianity by Mohammed who claimed to be a prophet of God. History reveals that Mohammed knew about Christianity and the teachings of the Bible, since he met Christians in Arabia. That is how much of the teachings of the Bible are also found in Islam. However, Mohammed refused to accept the teaching that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he is in fact, God Himself. He saw Jesus as being just a prophet of God. He thought that Christians had corrupted the Bible, and made Jesus into God. Mohammed thought that God had called him to correct this corruption and restore the truth. However, by denying the deity of Christ, Mohammed taught that salvation from sin must be earned by keeping the laws of God, which includes circumcision, fasting, praying 5 times a day.

Christians do not practise these things because the Bible teaches us that these laws are meant to show us how sinful we are and how we need to turn to Jesus Christ to save us (Galatians 2:16 -- "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."). Besides, many of the Old Testament laws such as circumcision, animal sacrifice have either been abrogated or fulfilled in Christ. For the born again Christian the two greatest commandments that he should keep as a result of being saved (and not as a means of salvation) are: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." (Matthew 22:37-39)

For Christians, salvation can never be wrought by works. Ephesians 2:8,9 assert this, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

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Where do the souls of people who have been saved go after death? Immediately to heaven to see Jesus or to wait till resurrection when Jesus will wake all the dead and separate those we are saved from those who are not saved?

After a born again Christian dies, his soul goes immediately to heaven to see Jesus. "Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." (2 Corinthians 5:6-8) Paul said "For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you."

Although the soul is with the Lord, it does not have a body yet, until the resurrection, when God gives the soul a new and glorious physical body, just like the the body Jesus had after His resurrection. Philippians 3:20,21 -- "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself."

As for those who are not saved, their soul immediately goes to suffer in hell upon death. At the resurrection, they also receive new bodies, but only to be cast into the lake of Fire and brimstone to suffer eternal death. Rev 20:13-15 - "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

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In 1Thessalonians 4:16,17 it appears that we go to the grave when we die ("sleep in Jesus" v.14) and then are raised up when Jesus appears. But then again Jesus told the robber that was crucified with him that "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:42,43). Is paradise the same place as heaven?

Paradise and heaven are one and the same, as 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 shows. They are both used in the NT to denote the place where the souls of the saved will go to immediately after death and will live there for eternity (see Revelation 2:7). The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 shows that there is no intermediate state of ‘soul sleep’ (which some cults believe).

The term ‘sleep in Jesus’ is a figurative way of referring to the saints who have died before the rapture. The word sleep is well-known euphemism for death, e.g. Acts 7:60; 2 Peter 3:4. Hence, it should not be taken as a literal sleep. It is a matter of perspective. To us here on earth, it appears that these departed believers are now all ‘asleep’. But to the departed believers themselves they are alive in the presence of the Lord (cf. Mark 12:26,27). Since Jesus appeared with Moses and Elijah on the mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:3), we have confirmation that the souls of the OT believers are alive with the Lord.

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Once saved always saved? For a believer who has been saved; what happens if he/she continues to commit sins like adultery, steal, lie, gossip, being proud, materialistic etc. Will his/her soul still go to heaven and have everlasting life? If that’s the case then heaven will be a very messy place isn’t it? Pardon me for saying that.... but I have seen born again Christians who do more immoral things than non believers.

Those who are truly saved will never lose their salvation. Jesus said in John 10:27-29 - "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand." (see also Romans 8:38,39)

But how can we tell if a person is truly born again? One important way is by the life he leads after salvation. There are many who claim that they are Christians, but they are really not: "They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." (Titus 1:16). A true Christian will have a changed life, as God works in him. Though he may occasionally still fall into sin because of the weakness of the flesh, he should become better and better. If he backslides into sin, God will chastise him and bring him back to the path of righteousness.

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There are some people who have never heard of the Gospel, and they go through life without knowing Christ. Isn’t it a pity that they will never be saved? Does God choose to save only some but not all?

The first thing that we need to understand is that God does not owe salvation to anyone. The fact that He chose to save some out of so many is already amazing. By right, no one should be saved at all, because all alike are sinners worthy of eternal death (Romans 3:10 - "There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God."; Romans 3:23 - "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;")

Secondly, the cause for the condemnation of the lost is not that they had never heard of Christ, but their own sin and rebellion against God. God has given every human being a conscience that shows them right and wrong. (Romans 2:14-15 - "For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;")

Thirdly, God is always righteous in judgment. No one can accuse Him of being unfair or unjust (Deuteronomy 32:4 - "He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.")

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Is baptism, reading the Bible, serving the Lord and fellowship necessary in a Christian’s life? What happens if somebody accepts Christ at his deathbed and he has never done any of the above-mentioned things. Will he still be saved? My mother accepted Christ 3 months before she died. Yes, she has been baptised and we knew that her faith in Christ was very strong. But she has no chance to go to the church, read the Bible or do anything for God because she was quite ill. How would I know if she was saved? Will God reject her because she has not made good use of her life to serve God?

The Bible tells us that a person is saved the moment he turns to Christ for salvation in repentance and faith. (John 5:24 - "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.") He does not need to have time to prove that he is saved by going to church, reading the Bible, serving the Lord, etc. before he is accepted by God. He is already accepted at the moment of conversion. One of the thieves who was crucified with Jesus Christ turned to Him: "And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:42,43) The thief died soon after that and was never baptised or had opportunities to read the Bible or obey any of God’s commandments. Praise the Lord! Your mother is therefore really saved even though she did not have the opportunity to go to church, etc. due to her illness.

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Does God rest on the Sabbath day now? Is it right to say that God has never rested since the day He rested after creating everything in 6 days?

God does not need to rest on the Sabbath day now, because the Sabbath day was made for man (Mark 2:27), not for Him. God’s rest on the first Sabbath was meant to model our rest for one day every week (Exodus 20:20,11). In a sense, God’s rest began on the 7th day after He began creating the heavens and the earth and is still ongoing. By this, we mean that he has ceased from His work of creation. He is still working to maintain what He has created - "My Father worketh hitherto (even until now), and I work" (John 5:17). That God’s rest continues till the present is based on the fact that believers can still enter into His rest - Hebrews 4:3 - "For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into My rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world."

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Are ‘spirits’ or ‘ghost’ deceptions from the devil? Why do some people claim to have the ‘third eye’ and can see these ‘spirits’ all the time... they say that they can see these spirits everywhere. These people are not mediums.. but ordinary people. There’s one encounter my uncle had, which i find hard to comprehend... when my grandfather died ... a few days after his funeral.. it was in the middle of the night when my uncle saw my ‘grandfather’ come back to the house to visit them.... ‘he’ said he had no money ‘down there’ and told my uncle to burn ‘money offerings’ to him...

The spiritual world is real. There are such things as evil spirits and demons. These are actually fallen angels that rebelled against God together with Lucifer. Sometimes they impersonate dead people and appear as ghosts. They do this in order to perpetuate false beliefs about the afterlife, e.g. the practise of burning joss paper to provide money to those in the underworld, etc. These are just part of the means that Satan uses to keep unbelievers under his power.

Those who claim to have the ability to see things in the spiritual realm have probably sought to see such things, out of curiosity or personal interest. But it is not to their advantage. It only makes people more aware of the presence of spirits and fearful of them. When king Saul sought to consult the spirit of Samuel to know what was in store for him, he was granted his request, but the end result was that he was much worse than before (1 Samuel 28:7-25). Christians should not dabble in the spiritual world or the occult (Deut 18: 10-12), but leave this realm to God alone to handle.

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Is it possible for Christians to exorcise evil spirits from those who are demon-possessed? Will moving out of a house or blessing a house haunted by evil spirits help?

The only way to help those who are demon-possessed is to preach the gospel to them and pray for them. Once they fully accept Christ as their Lord and Saviour, the evil spirit will automatically leave them. Many people have been delivered from demon-possession by turning to Christ for salvation.

Any attempt to cast out the evil spirit without the person’s acceptance of Christ will be futile - "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first." (Matthew 12:43-45)

The ministry of exorcism, like the ministry of miraculous healing, tongues, etc. were given only to the apostles. They are not for the church today. Those who claim to have powers of exorcism are claiming more authority over spirits than they should claim - "Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee." (Jude 8,9)

Demons have limited power over Christians, and can only go as far as God permits them to touch Christians (Job 1:11,12). Moving out of the house will only relieve the psychological fear or paranoia of evil spirits for a time. As long as the family members remain non-Christians, the evil spirits (whether the same ones or new ones) can still trouble them wherever they are. ‘Blessing’ the house does not help, because as long as there are non-Christians living there, the evil spirit will always feel free to return back to the house.

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Once a Christian told me that when Jesus died, he went to hell and preach to the lost souls in hell for 3 days. I can’t find any verse to support it. Is what he said biblical?

This strange teaching is based on a misinterpretation of two passages:

1 Peter 3:18-20

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water."

Ephesians 4:8-10

"Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)"

Based on this, it is speculated that between the time of Jesus’ death and resurrection, He descended into hell and preached to the lost souls in hell.

1 Peter 3:18-20, according to Buswell, Hodge, Warfield, etc. means that it was the Spirit of Christ in the days of Noah and through Noah who was preaching righteousness to those who rejected God’s grace, and who as a result of that, are now lost and in prison.

In Ephesians 4:8-10 the phrase ‘lower parts of the earth’ is not a reference to hell (and thus, does not imply that hell is somewhere underground, in the centre of the earth), The term lower parts is to be seen in apposition to the word earth. Hence it means that Christ descended into the lower parts, namely, the earth. It refers to his incarnation as a man.

The wording of the Apostle’s creed has also influenced this misinterpretation, since it states that Christ "descended into Hades". Some thought that this means that Christ went not to hell itself, but merely a holding place ("limbus patrum") for the dead Old Testament saints. He went to preach to them that His work on the cross had accomplished their salvation, and so they could now be released and led to heaven by Him.

John Calvin interprets the phrase in the creed to be a metaphor of the sufferings of Christ on the cross. The Westminster fathers take it to be refering to the state of death that Christ remained in until His resurrection. Both interpretations do not take the phrase literally, to mean that Christ went to a place called Hades.

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Can you please enlighten me concerning the canonization of the Bible? How do we know the Bible is complete? Why do people use Rev 22:18,19 when it can be only limited to the book of Revelation itself?

The canonicity of the books of the Bible was determined as follows:

As the various books of the Bible were written, they were read by believers and recognised by consensus. The Holy Spirit caused them to accept those books which God had inspired (the 66 books that we have in our Bible today) and reject those books which were not inspired by God (e.g. the apocrypha and the spurious gospels).

How do we know what was the consensus of God’s people? Through differences in the way they handled the books. e.g. the Dead Sea Scrolls show a difference in the way that the writers quoted from the OT books from the way that they quoted from other books written at the same time.

As for the NT, Tertullian made this statement which represents the thinking of Christians in the 2nd century AD with regard to the Bible: "We Christians are forbidden to introduce anything else on our own authority, or to choose what someone introduces on his own authority. Our authorities are the Lord’s apostles, and they in turn chose to introduce nothing on their own authority. They faithfully passed on to the nations the teaching which they had received from Christ."

How we know that the Bible is complete:

God has defined that the OT prophets (see Deuteronomy 18:20-21) and the NT apostles (see John 16:12-16) are the only legitimate human writers of scripture whom the Holy Spirit will inspire. Ephesians 2:20 - "And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone" Ephesians 3:5 - "Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit" 2 Peter 3:2 - "That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour"

These two groups are the only two categories of the "Holy men of God" mentioned in 2 Peter 1:21 - "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." The line of OT prophets came to an end about 400 BC. Josephus, declared that the prophets wrote from the days of Moses to Artaxerxes. Josephus also wrote: "It is true our history hath been written since Artaxerxes very particularly but hath not been esteemed of the like authority with the former by our forefathers, because there hath not been an exact succession of prophets since that time." The Talmud remarks: "After the latter prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel." Both of these sources testify that Malachi was the last writing prophet of the OT. Hence no one after Malachi can claim that he is a writing prophet.

The line of NT apostles came to an end about AD 90 with the death of the apostle John. What is an apostle? He must be an eyewitness to Jesus Christ (1 John 1:3), and manifest the signs of an apostle (2 Corinthians 12:12; Hebrews 2:3,4). It is true that the books of Mark, Luke and Acts were not written by an apostle, but these have the authority of the apostles behind them, e.g. Peter for Mark and Paul for Luke and Acts. No one living after AD 90 can claim to be an apostle or have the authority of an apostle because all the apostles of Christ died by that time.

Another evidence that the Bible is complete is the fact that the last few chapters of the last book, Revelation, reflect themes in the first few chapters of Genesis which is the first book. Look at the following:

Subject / Theme
God giveth light - Gen 1:3; Rev 22:5
God’s garden/city - Gen 2:8; Rev 21:10
Tree of Life - Gen 2:9; Rev 22:2
Precious stones - Gen 2:11-12; Rev 21:18-20
River - Gen 2:11-14; Rev 22:1
Marriage - Gen 2:24; Rev 21:2
Satan - Gen 3:3; Rev 20:2
Destruction of Evil - Gen 6:11-13; Rev 19:20,21
Babylon - Gen 11:1-9; Rev 18:1-9

This is not coincidental, but a real testimony to the conclusive nature of the book of Revelation. The same kind of structure can be observed in OT poetry. e.g. Psalm 103 begin and end with the same phrase: "Bless the LORD, O my soul" Therefore, any book that is written after the book of Revelation and claimed to be part of the Bible would violate this intricate structure of God’s revelation!

As for Rev 22:18,19 the argument that it applies to the whole Bible is admittedly tenuous since the words "the words of the book of this prophecy" apply directly to the Book of Revelation alone. Hence it is a warning not to tamper with the book of Revelation. However the same warning is found in Deuteronomy 4:2 – "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you." (also Deu 12;32). Hence, by analogy, every book of the Bible, which is inspired by God, cannot be tampered with with additions or subtractions. In an indirect sense, additional books purported to be from God, will be doing that, especially if their message nullifies or changes what God has already revealed through the prophets and apostles.

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I have a question about the title "Apostle", the 12 disciples are apostles, but Paul is also an Apostle, so including Paul there are 13 Apostles in the Bible?

There are some who say that Paul was the replacement for Barnabas and that Matthias who was elected in Acts 1:26 was not a legitimate apostle. Nothing more is mentioned of him.

But I think that it may be better to say that there were the 12 apostles, plus some other apostles recognised by the church, which includes Paul. Acts 15:5,7 seems to imply that the term "The twelve" is a subset of "The apostles" - "And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles."

Who are these other apostles besides Paul? Two of them may have been James, who was the brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19), and Barnabas (Acts 14:14). Paul calls himself the least of all the apostles (1 Cor 15:8,9)

There are two important qualifications of an apostle:

1. Must have been an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ (1 Corinthians 9:1 - Paul met Christ on the road to Damascus and presumably learned all about the life, death and resurrection of Christ by direct revelation. Christ appeared to his brother, James, according to 1 Cor 15:7. Barnabas was presumably among the more than 500 who saw the resurrected Christ in 1 Cor 15:6).

2. Must have the signs of an apostle (Paul had these - 2 Cor 12:12; Acts 14:3 shows that Barnabas was also able to perform miracles, like Paul.)

If a person had one qualification but not the other, he could not be called an apostle. E.g. Philip was able to perform signs, but he was not an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ (Acts 8:5,6). There may have been many among the 500 who were eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ, but who did not have the signs of an apostle.

Thus when the Bible talks of "The apostles" it is sometimes referring just to the 12 who were His original chosen disciples, plus Matthias who replaced Judas. At other times it may be referring to a larger group, which included Paul, Barnabas and James the brother of Christ.

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When were the angels created? Before or after man?

They were created before man. Job 38:6,7 – "Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" The term ‘morning stars’ and ‘sons of God’ (cf. Job 1:6; 2:1) refer to angels who witnessed the acts of creation by God. Man did not see these things, since they were all made by the time he was made. Man is therefore of lower rank than the angels (Psalm 8:5) who are powerful immortal beings. But man will one day in his resurrected state, be like them (Matthew 22:30).

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What is the difference between the "angel of the Lord" in the OT and in the NT e.g. Acts 12:7?

The term "angel of the Lord" is found altogether 68 times in the Bible (56 times in the OT and 12 times in the NT). In most of the verses where the term is found (both in the OT and NT), the term may refer to any angel that was sent by the Lord to bring a message to someone (e.g. 2 Kings 1:3,4) or to execute God’s will (e.g. 1 Chronicles 21:15). However, there are some OT passages where the ‘angel of the Lord’ is God Himself. E.g. Genesis 22:11,12,15-17; Genesis 31:11,13; Exodus 3:2,4; Judges 13:20. We cannot take every instance of the mention "Angel of the Lord" as referring to God or Christ. Those that are revealed to be God in the OT are probably the preincarnate appearances of Christ (Micah 5:2 – "whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.") but none of the Angel of the Lord appearances in the New Testament are like that, because Christ was already incarnated.

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Is it correct to say that on the doctrine and practice of Particular Redemption/ Limited Atonement, Christ died to save the whole world (John 3:16) but that God (Holy Trinity) has elected some to salvation and some to damnation as reprobates? It is apparent in Christ declaring that all that God the Father has given Him, none will be lost (the elect). Is it incorrect then to say that Christ’s death on the cross was to save the elect only?

We believe that Christ’s atonement was sufficient for all, but efficient only for the elect.

It is correct to say that Christ died to save only the elect, when the context is the design and intention of the atonement, and not its sufficiency.

The Arminians believe that Christ’s atonement was designed and intended to save the whole world but only those who believe are saved. This position is wrong because when an atonement is made for anyone his sins can no longer be held against him. The penalty for all his sins has already been fully paid. If that person has to pay it again in hell, then there would be a double payment for the same sins. So the atonement of Christ could only have paid for the sins of the elect, not for the sins of the non-elect. Matthew 1:21 says, "...for He shall save His people from their sins." The term ‘his people’ here refers to the elect. Ephesians 5:25 – "...even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it." Again the term ‘church’ demarcates a group of people, not the whole world.

But the value of Christ’s atonement is infinite, so that if hypothetically, God had elected every sinner who ever lived, Christ’s atonement would still have been sufficient to pay for all of them. No sinner is lost because of an insufficient atonement. This sufficiency is stated in 1 John 2:2 – "And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." Therefore the atonement is sufficient for all.

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Do the roles and functions of the three persons in the Holy Trinity overlap or are they very unique and distinct?

First we must consider what is true of all three persons in the Trinity: The Westminster Shorter Catechism summarises it as follows: "God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth." What is true about God is true about each person in the Trinity. God is eternal. Therefore Father is eternal, Son is eternal, Spirit is eternal, etc. All three persons are equal (cf. John 5:17,18; 10:30) but there are functional differences:

The Father is mentioned first, followed by the Son, and then the Holy Spirit. (John 14:28 – "If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.", 16:14 – "He [the Holy Spirit] shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.", 5:19 – "The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise."). This does not mean that the Holy Spirit is a lesser God than Jesus and that Jesus is a lesser God than the Father. Or that one is less important than the other.

Functionally, God the Father is the Source from whom all things originate. God the Son is the Word or wisdom, and God the Holy Spirit is the Power, executing the will of God. These functions can be seen in creation (1 Cor 8:6 – "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.", Gen 1:2 – "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.").

And salvation (1 Pet 1:2 – "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.") The Father elected us to salvation from the before foundation of the world, The Son provided the atonement that saves us, and the Spirit Calls us through the preaching of the Word. When we pray – we pray to the Father, through the Son, by means of the Holy Spirit.

However, the distinctions are not absolute and there is some overlap. E.g. Which Person of the Trinity abides in the believer? – The Holy Spirit; God the Son – John 14:20 "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you." (cf. Gal 2:20); God the Father – "If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." In whose name do we baptize? Acts 2:38 says "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." But Matthew 28:19 says, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost"

Sanctification is the work of the Spirit (as seen in 1 Pet 1:2) and yet in Jude 1:1, it is God the Father who sanctifies! ("Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called"). Awhile ago we said that prayer is directed to God the Father, but one prayer in the Bible is not addressed to the Father, but to the Son – Acts 7:59 – "And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

Hence, there definitely is some overlap in functions and roles. How much? – Not for us to say or to measure. Remember: That it is beyond man’s ability to completely understand or analyse God, the way he might analyse anything in this world. We should simply accept what the Bible says about Him.

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What is the difference between water baptism and spirit baptism?

The main difference it is spirit baptism that saves, not water baptism. The moment a person is born again, he or she is spiritually baptised. 1 Corinthians 12:13 – "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." After a person is spiritually baptised, he should be baptised with water as well to confess that he now believes in Christ. In infant baptism however, water baptism comes before spirit baptism, because it is usually later on that the child is born again. But there was one exception – e.g. John the Baptist (Luke 1:15 – "he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.") He was born again before he was even born!

Water Baptism is one of the two sacraments ordained by the Lord Jesus Christ to be practised by the church, which are: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Of these, baptism is only done once, to initiate the new believer into a church. Salvation is not the purpose of water baptism – many people have this mistaken idea, because it is taught by the RC church and some cults – e.g. Central Christian church. See 1 Corinthians 1:17 – "For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect." If baptism is required for salvation, Paul would not have said that.

The thief who died on the cross next to Christ was not baptised, and yet he was saved. (Luke 23:42,43 – "And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise."). The Bible teaches that baptism is only an outward sign of an inward grace (cf. Wedding ring – the outward sign of the invisible marriage bond). It distinguishes Christ’s disciples from the rest of the world, and comforts them. If an adult who is not saved goes through water baptism, that water baptism is no use to him. Therefore what matters most is the unseen spirit baptism that is done by God.

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What happens to the Jews who followed the OT Jewish laws during the transition period when Jesus has come to earth and before the canonical Bible is complete? Are these Jews who followed the Jewish laws saved even though they may not have heard the gospel?

The OT Jewish Laws provided salvation only as far as the Jews believed in God’s provision of the Messiah for their salvation. The Laws were designed to make them aware of their sin and need for salvation, and the sacrifices prescribed in the Law made them look forward to the final sacrifice God would provide for them, to take away all their sins. There are ample prophecies in the OT about the coming Messiah and many godly Jews in the time of Christ were looking forward to seeing Him.

E.g. Simeon, in Luke 2:5-27 – "And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law."

Besides Simeon, there was also Anna, a prophetess in the Temple who recognized Jesus as her Messiah, "And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." (Luke 2:38).

As Jesus was growing up, there were probably many other godly Jews, who like Simeon and Anna, were waiting for their Messiah and His salvation, but who unlike Simeon and Anna, they were ignorant that He had already come. As long as they still had this hope and desire, they were saved. But when Jesus began His public ministry, the news about Him would have reached most of the Jews living in Palestine. That would then determine who were saved and who were not among them. Those who were saved would readily confess that he is the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:13-17 – "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.")

1 Peter 2:7,8 – "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."

Therefore, from the time that Jesus’ ministry became known among the Jews (and not the completion of the canonical Bible), their response to him determined whether or not they were saved. Those who heard about the Jesus and sought to know Him and follow Him would be saved – as God would draw them toward Him. Those who responded to the news with indifference, were not. How about those living far outside Israel who never got to hear the news even after Christ had ascended up to heaven? – They would be saved if they were like Simeon and Anna in desiring the Messiah to come. But since godly Jews would take the trouble to visit the Temple at Jerusalem every year for the feasts of Passover and Pentecost, it is likely that they too would have received the news about Jesus (cf. Pentecost in Acts 2:5,6 – "And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.")

Today, the news of Jesus is common knowledge to most Jews. And yet they still reject Him. This is due to the ‘blindness’ that God has placed on them (Romans 11:25).

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Give details of the different crowns given out in heaven.

Three of them are named: the Crown of life (Rev 2:10, James 1:12), the Crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4), and the Crown of Righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8). The idea of crowns was taken from the athletic contests and they were actually prizes that were awarded to athletes in New Testament times. In those days people took part in sporting events like the present day Olympic games. But unlike the Olympic games, participants in these games who performed better than all their other competitors in athletic events, did not receive gold silver or bronze medals. What they received were special wreaths or garlands woven from leaves, and they wore these on top of their heads.

Different kinds of leaves were used to make the ‘crowns’ in different areas. The crown worn by the victors in the Olympic games was made of leaves of the wild olive; in the Pythian games, of laurel; in the Nemean games, of parsley; and in the Isthmian games, of the pine. The Romans bestowed the "civic crown" on him who saved the life of a citizen. It was made of the leaves of the oak tree. Our Lord Jesus Christ was also crowned when he died on the cross, but one that was woven with thorns, not leaves, in order to mock him rather than to honour him.

And the whole concept of the crowns that the New Testament writers wrote about was actually derived from these wreaths, since the Christian life is like a long distance race. When we are discouraged we can look into God’s Word and be motivated to press on when we understand that there are wonderful prizes waiting for us at the end of the race: the crown of righteousness, the crown of life and the crown of glory.

The Crown of Righteousness – According to 2 Tim 4:8 Paul knew that he would get this crown, and it would be his reward for having fought the good fight, finishing his course and having kept the faith. He says that this crown will also be given to all who love the appearing of the Lord Jesus.

The Crown of Life – According to James 1:12 this crown is given to those who love God and because of that, they endure severe trials in life -- "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." Since trials often endanger a person’s life, the crown of life becomes a fitting reward for them.

The Crown of Glory – According to 1 Peter 5:1-4 this crown is given to elders in the church who are faithfully feed and oversee the flock of God. "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." (1 Peter 5:4). Since they resisted the temptation to use their authority to seek glory for themselves, the crown of glory becomes an appropriate reward for them.

But what exactly are all these crowns? Are they real, literal material crowns, an ornamental head-dress like the special wreaths worn by victors in the ancient games? I think that are probably not: They must be better than that. What will be the use of having a special beautiful shining crown to wear in heaven when our physical appearances do not really matter any more over there?

The crowns are best understood to be referring to real and wonderful rewards that we will truly enjoy in heaven. Some have suggested that the reward is actually found in the name of the crown. E.g. The crown of righteousness is righteousness. The crown of life is life itself, and the crown of glory is glory. Cf. Hebrews 2:9 – "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour;. . .."

Question: We can understand righteousness and glory as rewards. But what’s so great about having life as a reward when we will have eternal life? Life can be defined as the ability of an entity to interact with the things around it. When a living thing dies, it loses all ability to interact with its environment. The supreme level of life comes from having the ability to interact with God Himself, with the One who is the ultimate source of all life. We experience life in its fullest meaning only when we can more fully know, love, and fellowship with the infinite, eternal God.

When life is seen and understood in these terms, then we can understand why the crown of life is such a great reward to strive for. What we are being promised by God is the blessedness of experiencing a much deeper, and a much closer relationship with Him that will satisfy our souls to the fullest. In heaven, everyone who is saved may not be enjoying the same level of closeness and intimacy with God. Some will be granted the special privilege of being closer to God than others. This is why the mother of James and John asked Jesus to grant that her two sons may sit next to Him in heaven. (Matthew 20:20-22).

One more interesting point about what the rewards may be: Isaiah 28:5 -- "In that day shall the LORD of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people," Do you see here what the crown of glory is? It is the Lord Himself.

This suggests that the crowns have to do with God Himself and not something apart from Him. Perhaps some may be disappointed to know this because we have been thinking of heavenly rewards more in terms of valuable material assets like those we are used to receiving in this world like gold, property, houses, and cars. But if we desire to obtain special prizes at the judgment seat of Christ, then let it be for no other reason than the fact that the prizes will in some very special way bring us much closer to God. Our Lord is the best reward, the best prize we should be looking forward to in heaven!

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Those believers who die after the rapture, what happens to them, how are their bodies glorified?

This is a difficult question to answer. I have thought quite long about it, and I must admit that I do not have the answer to it. We will probably know only when Christ returns.

Let me just present the problems of finding an answer to this question. There are few of them. The first is that since with regards to the rapture we take either a pre-tribulation or mid-tribulation position, then after the rapture there will be no Christians left on earth for the duration of either 7 years or 3.5 years. And then there might be some who come to know Christ as a result of the tribulation (There was even a film made of these ‘tribulation saints’ some years ago – they formed an underground church that suffered a lot under the Antichrist.) But they also suffer the full brunt of the wrath of God that is vented against the world of the Antichrist in the seven vial judgments. The question is that when these tribulation saints die, what happens to their bodies? While the saints who are already raptured are enjoying the marriage supper of the lamb, receiving their rewards at the bema seat, when will these ‘tribulation saints’ get their new resurrection bodies and their belated rewards? The Bible is silent.

One way around this is to say that there will be no tribulation saints at all. The time of grace is already past. The Holy Spirit has been removed from the world (2 Thessalonians 2:7). Thus no one will be called into God’s kingdom during the tribulation. All who are left behind are ‘condemned’ so to speak. And yet there must be a possibility of salvation to take place during that time, because some prophecies tell us that Israel will turn to the Lord during this time. According to Zechariah 12:20, they will look upon Him whom they have pierced and weep for what they did to Him. The Jews will be revived during the years of tribulation and will realize that Jesus Christ whom they crucified was actually their messiah! Romans 11:25 tells us that all Israel shall be saved after the fullness of the Gentiles have come in.

This means that there will be at least some Jewish tribulation saints. So we are back to the question: what happens to them if they die believing in Christ? Some may suggest that they will be glorified instantly to join the rest of the saints – as latecomers. Imagine a Jewish Christian shot to death and immediately his body resurrects! Others suggest that there will be a special resurrection for them just at the end of the tribulation when Jesus descends the clouds with the saints. They will resurrect and immediately join the armies of saints coming with the Lord. Will there be a second rapture then of those Jewish Christians who did not die?

Another problem: What happens after Christ begins to rule on earth during the millennium? If people are born during the millennial kingdom and they are saved, and then they die, where will they go? We know that as glorious and changed as the millennium will be, death will still be existing. Isaiah 65:20 tells us that though people will live much longer during the millennium, they will still have to die – "There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed." So what will happen to them when they die? Will they join the resurrected saints and reign with Christ on earth? In that case we will have an interesting situation of believers who die during the millennium and they just pass on from life on earth in a corruptible body to eternal life on earth in a resurrected body!

Because there are so many difficulties and questions related to the resurrection of believers who die after the rapture and no answers, some have opted to do away with the literal interpretation of the scriptures and believe in the amillennial view where everything will take place at the same time: resurrection of believers, and unbelievers all at the same time, and no more need for two or three or more resurrections! While that may simplify things and "solve" this problem, we need to ask if it is a valid solution, since it means spiritualizing away many specific prophecies of the Bible. And since every prophecy of scripture that has been fulfilled has been fulfilled literally, we have no reason to believe that the rest of the prophecies will be fulfilled spiritually.

I believe that the premillennial view we hold is the right one, even though I do not have the answers to these questions. These things are not revealed to us and therefore we do not need to know. But rest assured, one day all things that are unknown will be made known. So let us be patient to wait for that day!

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If Christians have confessed their sins and asked for forgiveness, must they account for them at the Bema judgment? What happens if Christians have unconfessed, secret sins? Do they have to be accountable for them although Jesus has forgiven our past, present and future sins?

Those who are saved will not have their sins mentioned any more. Hebrews 10:17 – "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." This is a quotation from the prophecy Jeremiah made of the New Covenant – "And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (Jeremiah 31:34) The New Covenant is unconditional – Hence the forgiveness is not conditioned upon the confession of the sins and iniquities.

Some think that there is an accounting for sins for believers based on Matthew 12:36-37 – "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." I believe that the judgement here refers to the GWT judgment for unbelievers, and not to the judgment seat of Christ.

There is however an accounting we must give, as mentioned in Romans 14:10-12 – "But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." The context of this passage is not of sin, but rather the true motives for the things that we have done (see vv.2-5 – we have no right to judge each other’s motives). Whatever good works we have done will be assessed by Christ who can see the motives behind them. Wrong motives would only reduce their value.

The Bema judgment is an assessment of our works to see whether we are deserving of rewards or not. It will be like the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30). But the question comes that at the end of the parable of the Talents the last servant was cast into the outer darkness and there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

In order to understand what this outer darkness and gnashing of teeth is, let us look at another parable – the Parable of the Marriage feast in Matthew 22:2-14. Toward the end of the parable there was a man at the feast who did not have a wedding garment – "And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." This man who did not have the wedding garment is cast into the very same place where the third servant of the Parable of the Talents was cast. Now, in the wedding parable it is clear that the man who did not have the wedding garment represents those who are unsaved but who try to get into God’s Kingdom. In those days, the host would actually provide the wedding garment to his invited guests. This guest had apparently refused to wear the garment provided by the host. This aptly symbolizes salvation that is given to us by God’s grace.

If anyone tries to get into God’s kingdom without receiving God’s offer of salvation, he may be able to fool men, but he cannot fool God. (see also Matthew 13: 42,50; 24:46 - hypocrites)

Coming back now to our Parable of the Talents, we can now see that the place of Outer Darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth is not anywhere in heaven, but rather a description of eternal punishment in Hell. Hence the Parable of the Talents is not so much a description of what happens at the Bema Judgment, but of the faithfulness that is required of God’s People. And those who are not faithful may turn out to be false disciples who will be shocked to face the GWT judgment instead of the Bema judgment!

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At the Bema judgment, some Christians will really be filled with shame and regret for not having done more in their lifetime. Is it possible for them to live eternity with regret?

The explanation we have just seen of the Parable of the Talents removes this idea. I do not believe that some Christians will spend eternity in regret, because the eternal state is described as one where "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." (Rev 21:4) If we do lose our rewards at the Bema Judgment we will still be happy in heaven. But the happiness of those who have rewards will be greater, perhaps because they are given the privilege of sitting closer to the Lord!

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I understand in the BPC practices there is infant baptism, but I can’t find such teachings in the bible, it is also a practice of the Roman Catholic Church, how is it right to baptise an infant when he is ignorant of the Lord’s saving grace? Can the parents or the pastors of the church make decision for babies to be baptised?

These are common questions that people often ask concerning the practice of Infant Baptism. However, very often one does not realise that these questions of themselves can be faulted in some aspects.

Firstly, it is true that the practice of Infant Baptism is not explicitly taught in the Bible, but does this therefore necessary mean that it is not biblical? Or to rephrase the question, does every practice require an explicit command from the Bible in order to be accepted as biblical? I believe not, for if this is so, then the Church should not allow women to partake the Lord’s supper because the Scripture is also silent about women partaking this sacrament. Furthermore, if this is so, then we should also stop singing in our worship services since the apostle Paul never mentioned about singing when he instructed Timothy and Titus concerning what they ought to do during a public worship (cf. 1 Tim 3:14-4:16; Tit 1-2).

Secondly, it is true that the Scripture clearly states that faith and repentance are required from every adult who desires to be baptised. However, this is quite different from saying that faith and repentance are required from ALL who are to be baptised. To insist that this must be so is, at best, an argument from silence.

Thirdly, the existence of a practice in an apostate church does not necessarily imply that the practice itself is inherently wrong. For example, the 16th century Reformers e.g. Martin Luther, John Calvin...etc were fully aware that the Roman Church corrupted the idea of Baptism (for adults) by associating it as part of the requirements to attain salvation, yet they did not reject Baptism because they knew that it was a legitimate sacrament when administered properly i.e. baptising the person using water in the name of the triune God.

Because of these reasons, it is important to evaluate the practice of Infant Baptism, not on such superficial grounds, but on the overall testimony of Scripture, namely the Old and the New Testament. One will then eventually discover that this practice is very closely related to one’s understanding of the nature and relevance of God’s promise to Abraham in Gen 17:7, commonly known as the Abrahamic Covenant.

The Testimony of the Old Testament

To begin with, although the Covenant of Grace1 came into effect immediately after man’s fall in the garden of Eden through the promise of the woman’s Seed (cf. Gen. 3:15), it was not until Genesis 12 onwards that the details of this covenant were more clearly revealed. In Gen 17:7, God promised Abraham, saying, “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.” Now, besides noting that this covenant relationship that God promised to Abraham must have been established through Christ (cf. Jn 14:6) one may also notice that this promise was also made with reference to his descendants after him. In other words, God regarded the children of the Old Testament believer as part of His covenant people, which formed the visible Church in the Old Testament (Acts 7:38).

Because of this reason, the children of God’s covenant people in the Old Testament (i.e. the Jews) were also required to receive the rite of circumcision (cf. Gen. 17:10-11), even though they were not yet able to grasp the significance of circumcision, which was an outward sign of the inward circumcision that God would perform in their hearts. Moses confirmed this teaching when he reminded the Israelites, saying,

And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live (Deut 30:5–6; emphasis mine).

But if this is really so, that God has promised to save the Old Testament believer and his children, and has confirmed His promise to them with the rite of circumcision, how is it then that many of the Jews eventually perished in unbelief? To this perplexing question, the apostle Paul replies in Rom 9:6-8, saying,

Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

In other words, although God did promise to save the believer’s children, He did not promise to save ALL of them because not everyone of them is a ‘child of promise’. In every generation, there may be some who are merely ‘children of the flesh’. Nevertheless, this did not affect the requirement that everyone of the believer’s children should be circumcised because God regarded the family as an organic whole. Hence, the believer’s family could be legitimately called a Jewish family or God’s family even though there might be an Esau or an Ishmael within it.2

The Testimony of the New Testament

Now, having considered the fact that God did regarded the believer’s children as His covenant people, and required them to receive the sign of the covenant i.e. circumcision under the Old Testament, what about the New Testament? Is there now a difference in the way God perceives the believer’s children in the New Testament? I believe not, for the following reasons:

Firstly, we read in Acts 2:38-39 that the apostle Peter concluded his message to his Jewish hearers with the following words,

“...Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”

Comparing this passage with the apostle Paul’s words in Gal 3:14, where he says that “...the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith”, one will discover that the apostle Peter is actually referring to the promises that God has made in the Abrahamic Covenant. This implies very clearly that this covenant has not terminated with the end of the Old Testament period, but unfolds and finds its complete fulfilment in the New Testament today.

But much more than this, one will discover from these words that God’s perception of the believer’s children remains unchanged, for Peter highlighted that “... the promise is unto you, and to your children.” In other words, God still regards the children of the New Testament believer as part of His covenant people.

Secondly, the apostle Paul mentioned in his epistle to the Corinthians the following words concerning Christians with unbelieving spouses.

“And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.” - 1 Cor 7:13-14

The context of the passage has to do with believers who were converted after their marriage. Although the children were not believers yet, the apostle declared that they were regarded as holy (Gk. hagia) before God. Now, besides carrying the idea of moral uprightness or sinlessness (which cannot be the sense in this passage), the word ‘holy’ can also be used to denote the idea of separating something apart for God, and this is the sense in which the word is used here in 1 Corinthians 7. Regardless of the unbelieving spouse, the believer’s children are regarded by God as part of His covenant people, and hence set apart to experience the Spirit’s saving work in their heart in His good time.

Besides these two passages, there are many other passages that we can consider if space permits e.g. the apostle Paul’s promise to the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:31. Nevertheless, I believe that what we have covered thus far is sufficient to indicate that the status of believers’ children before God has not changed with the dawn of the New Testament.

The Marks of the Abrahamic Covenant

Since this is the case, one may well ask, “What then hinders these children from receiving the mark of the Abrahamic Covenant?” The answer is ‘Absolutely nothing’. As I’ve mentioned earlier, the inability of the children to perceive the significance of the outward symbol is not relevant because God is the One who commands that they should receive it (cf. Gen 17:10-14).

Hence, the only question that Christians ought to ask today is this, “During the Old Testament period, the mark of the Abrahamic Covenant is circumcision. But what about the New Testament today? What is the mark that our children ought to receive?” I believe the answer is found in the words of the apostle Paul in Col 3:9-12, where he says,

“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”

Now, one may notice in this passage that the apostle assigns the same spiritual significance to both circumcision and baptism, namely that of the Spirit’s act of cleansing from sin’s defilement. This indicates quite clearly that baptism is the New Testament counterpart of circumcision in the Old Testament, just as the Lord’s Supper today is the counterpart of the Old Testament Passover Feast.

If this is the case (and I believe that it is so), then it is only natural for the Christians today to baptise their infants just as the Old Testament Christians would circumcise their children. And incidentally, this will also explain why the New Testament does not contain any explicit command on this practice. There was simply no need for the apostles to do so because the early church began with the Jews, who were already very familiar with the concept of circumcision and the status of their children before God.

In fact, it is interesting to note that infant baptism was a generally accepted practice of the early church prior to her corruption in AD 313 when Christianity began to merge with politics through the efforts of the Roman emperor Constantine. For example, in response to a letter from Bishop Fidus, Cyprian (AD.200-58) in AD 253 tabled the question of infant baptism before a council of 66 bishops, all of whom agreed that parents should not wait until the eighth day to baptise their infants, but as early as the second or third day after their birth.3

The Responsibilities of Christian Parents

Having covered all these vital biblical principles from the Old and the New Testament, one will now have a better understanding about the importance and validity of Infant Baptism. It has to do with our obedience to the terms of the Abrahamic Covenant, and is completely different from the practice of the Roman Catholic Church, which believes in Baptismal Regeneration.

God-given responsibilities as parents towards our children

As mentioned earlier, God regards our children as His covenant people, and members of the visible church. But while this truth affords us great comfort, knowing that He will save them in His own good time, it also implies that parents MUST do their part, which is more than simply presenting them for baptism, encouraging them to attend Sunday School or even praying that they will come to know the Lord at a young age. When our children are presented before God for baptism, parents are committing themselves to train them through the process of discipleship (cf. Matt 28:18-20). And this involves disciplining them (cf. Prov 13:24), teaching them the Word of God (cf. Deut 6:3-7) and leading them lovingly by being examples (cf. Eph 6:4).

Unfortunately, many Christian parents today simply abdicate these important responsibilities to the church or the Sunday School teachers, which in turn leads to the spiritual weakness of the church in the long run.

Second or third generation Christians need not be weak spiritually, if their parents would only do their part faithfully and diligently.

Endnotes
1 The Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter VII Section III explains, “Man, by his fall, having made himself incapable of life by that covenant i.e. of works, the Lord was pleased to make a second,(Gal. 3:21; Rom. 3:20-21; 8:3 ) commonly called the covenant of grace; wherein he freely offereth unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ; requiring of them faith in him, that they may be saved, (John 3:16) and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life his Holy Spirit, to make them willing, and able to believe. (Acts 13:48; Ezek. 36:26-27).

2 Lim J J, What about My Children, PCC Bulletin 5th May 2002.

3 Cyprian, Epistle LVIII. To Fidus, on the Batism of Infant, 2-6. Quoted in Robert Raymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith, 2 ed. (Nelson, 1998), 944.

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