Questions On The Bible Compared To Denominational Teaching

Question 1. What does the bible say about predetermined destiny?

Answer Addressing Christians in Romans 8:29–30, Paul writes, "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified." Individual predestination is not specifically what is under consideration in this passage, but a predestination of God’s purpose. It was God’s purpose before the foundation of the world to choose a people who would be conformed to the image of His Son (see also Eph. 1:1–4). Anyone who heeds the call of the gospel is predetermined to become conformed to the image of God’s Son, for that is what God has decreed. But in His plan, it is not the person who is predestined,but the "mold" into which the person puts himself. When I was a child, we had a mold in which lead was poured and when the lead cooled, out came little lead soldiers! That molten lead was "predestined" to become conformed to the image of a soldier. With human beings, God does not "pour us" into His mold, but when we heed the gospel call, we choose for ourselves to enter that "mold." No one can be conform himself to Christ by doing his own will. If we are to be conformed, it must be on God’s terms.

The parable of the sower in Matt. 13:3–23 shows that the word (the seed) falls on all kinds of different soil. Whether a person accepts it or not, stands firm or falls away, depends upon the person, not the word. When Jesus said in verse 9 "He who has ears, let him hear," He was issuing a warning for people to take heed at what was being said. Some say that a person has no choice in the matter; that his destiny is determined before he is born, and that if God hasn’t chosen him, that’s just too bad (of course, the people who believe that, all tend to believe that they themselves have been chosen!). But if you notice the explanation of the parable that Jesus gives in verses 19–23, you will see a person has a choice as to which "soil" he will be. As you read those verses, keep in mind what Jesus said in Matthew 7:8: "Everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened." You see how this fits with conforming ourselves to Christ? We must actively seek.

This is the only kind of "predetermined destiny" spoken of in Scripture. A person is not destined to be a plumber or a carpenter; a person is not destined to be a thief or a doctor; an extortionist or a philanthropist. If a person obeys the gospel of Christ, however, it is as though Christ "knew him" from the foundation of the world. The opposite is also true. If one has obeyed Christ, and then fallen away, it is as though Christ "never knew" him (see Matt. 7:21–23). Contact Doug

Question 2. A pastor of a local church recently preached about "full atonement;" saying that because Christ died for all of us... we were all saved. Of course there are numerous passages in scripture which speak to "choice/acceptance of Christ" as a vital element of grace. My question is this: Are there any scriptural passages which speak in defense of the pastor's statement: that we are ALL granted full atonement, regardless of our choice to believe, follow, love and worship Christ/God? What might have propelled this pastor to make the claim of "full atonement"?

Answer Excellent question. By full atonement, I assume he means that since Jesus has died for all, then all are saved, no matter what they do. One passage that is often used to prove this is 1 John 2:1-2 which says,

1JO 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
1JO 2:2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

This passage that Jesus' sacrifice is sufficient enough for the forgiveness of the world's sins, not just Christians' sins. But, does this mean that we have no responsibility in coming to a position where we might receive the benefits of His sacrifice, forgiveness of sins?

As you well pointed out we do have a responsibility in acting by obedient faith toward God in becoming a Christian and remaining a Christian. In the previous chapter, John writes the following words,

1JO 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
1JO 1:7 but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

If Jesus sacrifice was extended to all no matter how we behaved, then why does John tell Christians they need to repent of and confess their sins? He does because although Jesus has provided full atonement, in the sense that is is adequate for anyone's and everyone's forgiveness, we must come to Him by obedient faith to receive this forgiveness.

HEB 5:8 Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.
HEB 5:9 And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, Contact Gary

Question 3. Some people of other churches believe
that they have Apostles living today in their church and that they have the power to heal by touch or using a garment that they, the so called Apostle have worn.they us Eph.4:11 as there reasoning what do you think and is there any verse in the bible to back up or to prove otherwise

Answer Yes, although some groups claim this, it could not be further from the truth. The apostles of Jesus had a unique, one-time mission that was not to be duplicated by any future successors. Not only did they have a unique mission, but they also had to possess unique qualifications in order to be apostles.

First, their missi9on was to be special witnesses of Jesus and to preach and reveal the gospel to the world. Not only did the Holy Spirit provide them with the words they were to speak, but also He gave them miraculous powers so they could perform miracles to confirm that their word was from God.

ACT 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
ACT 2:2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
ACT 2:3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them.
ACT 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.
ACT 2:5 ¶ Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
ACT 2:6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were bewildered, because they were each one hearing them speak in his own language.
ACT 2:7 And they were amazed and marveled, saying, "Why, are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
ACT 2:8 "And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born?

HEB 2:1 For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.
HEB 2:2 For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense,
HEB 2:3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard,
HEB 2:4 God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.

As to qualifying as an apostle, one had to be an eyewitness of Jesus' ministry from the time He was baptized by John to the time that He ascended to Heaven.

ACT 1:21 "It is therefore necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us--
ACT 1:22 beginning with the baptism of John, until the day that He was taken up from us-- one of these should become a witness with us of His resurrection. "

In short, no one today either qualifies or has been given the same mission as the apostles. After the Word was completely revealed and confirmed, there is no need to re-reveal and re-confirm the Word. They did their job completely. Contact Gary

Question 4. Is deliverance a legitimate ministry in today's Christian Church? Can a Christian be demon possessed?

Answer I'm not sure what you mean by "deliverance." From the 2nd part of your question, I am assuming you mean the casting out of demons as was done during New Testament times. I believe that demon possession was a phenomenon which only occurred during New Testament times. There is no mention of it earlier in any of the Old Testament texts, even though people did sacrifice to demons (2 Chr. 11:15; 106.37). Jesus said of the casting out of demons that this was being done to prepare for the plunder of Satan's house. He said, "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house." Matt 12:28-29. Col 2:15 says that Christ "disarmed" the principalities and powers (or spiritual rulers and authorities) when he arose from the dead. Since Satan's great power was the power of death, Jesus' resurrection spelled the beginning of the end of Satan's power. Hebrews 2:14-15 puts it this way: "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Satan has no authority or power like the gospel. Therefore, he is not permitted to possess people against their wills as he once did. A person may be "possessed" in the sense that he allows Satan to enter into him and rule in his heart. But this is not the same kind of possession as during New Testament times. There is no indication from any of the gospel accounts of possession that any of the victims "deserved" the evil that came upon them. When the gospel message was completed and the word was made available to the world, demon possession ceased. Those who claim to be able to cast out demons are deceiving themselves and others, because there is no power greater than the gospel, and no man is needed to defeat Satan. The Bible specifically says, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:7-8)." This promise is given to anyone who has submitted his life to Jesus Christ in obedience to His gospel (Rom. 1:16; 6:1-9; 8:35-39). Contact Doug

Question 5. What is the biblical stance of the depravity of man?

Answer I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination on doctrines that have grown out of the teachings of John Calvin.   I do know that his famous acronym, TULIP, begins with Total hereditary depravity. Briefly, this doctrine teaches that when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden that this sin and its guilt forever is passed on (inherited by) his descendants.  That is all of us.  As a result of this teaching, some religious groups baptize infants to remove their inherited sin - Catholics, Presbyterians, ....

This is contrary to clear Biblical teaching.  The Bible teaches that each man comes under the penalty of sin by his own actions.  Please read for yourself some passages that deal with the subject of sin.

Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Rom 3:23 for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;

Death here means separation from God.  Calvinists teach that depravity comes from adamic sin, but the Bible says it comes from our sinning. 

Rom 5:12 Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned:--

This passage comes the closest in discussing the depravity of man and Adam together.  Please read the whole context, Rom. 5:1-21.  True, this passage says that sin entered the world through Adam.  But the penalty of sin, death, passes to each of us through our own sin, not Adam's  These are very clear passages that explain the depravity of man.

Let me address briefly the idea of baptizing infants.  I am sure you can see that they would only need baptizing if they have sin to be forgiven of.  Look at the following passage.

Mat 18:3 and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.

The Lord himself said we should turn and become as little children to enter the kingdom of heaven.  We know there will be no sinners in the kingdom, so children must not be sinners (depraved).

Lastly, let me briefly address the problem of sin.  Since we all sin, what can be done to remove it?  Since, most of the passage that I gave are from Romans, lets look at Rom. 6.

Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein? 3 Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him through baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with (him) in the likeness of his death, we shall be also (in the likeness) of his resurrection; 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with (him), that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin; 7 for he that hath died is justified from sin. 8 But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him;

Notice we should stop sinning.  Second we should be baptised in order to begin a new life.  This unites us with Christ in his death and raises us with him like in his resurrection.  Afterwards we are no longer be slaves to sin, but look forward to the time when we will live with him.  Please read carefully all of Romans 6 in this regard. Contact Larry