Questions and Answers
In a previous Q&A, titled, “Must Christians be poor?”, we showed that God can and sometimes does bless His people with wealth and riches. We explained that it is therefore not required that God’s people must be poor. But as we will show in this Q&A, this does not mean that everyone who is rich has been blessed by God—that God made that person rich. We wrote in the Q&A, mentioned above: “God does not bless someone who is unrighteous. It is true, of course, that unrighteous people may be rich, but this would not be because of God’s blessings… Psalm 37:7, 16 says: ‘Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass… A little that a righteous man has Is better than the riches of many wicked…” The Bible shows that quite often, people have become or are rich—not because of God who blessed them, but because of Satan. When Satan tempted Christ in the wilderness, he offered Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, stating that he would give all of them to Christ if He were… In the first two parts of this three-part series, we looked at why it is vital to stay with “our calling” and the “Way of Life” to which we have been called. Nothing less will do. To repeat the key Scripture in this review, once again, it is in Matthew 24:13: “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” But what about those who have succumbed to the dreadful disease of dementia? We will now address the dementia question for those Church members and their families who are affected. We quote briefly below from the following sources to show what a traumatic time this can be for those families who have to deal with this problem. According to the website verywellmind.com, there are seven stages of dementia from “no cognitive decline” to “very severe cognitive decline.” “Stages 1 to 3 are the pre-dementia stages; whereas Stages 4 to 7… In the first part of this series, we looked at the need to not give up on our calling, and we will continue to review further information, which applies to Matthew 24:13, and which is to the point: “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” Perseverance is vital for true Christians. As mentioned in our Q&A “Once Saved, Always Saved?”: “In Hebrews 2:1 we read: ‘Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.’ Proponents of the ‘once saved, always saved’ concept try to minimise what disqualified really means but in 2 Corinthians 13:5 we read: ‘Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? — unless indeed you are disqualified (adikomos).’ Therefore, if you are disqualified, Jesus Christ is not (any longer) in you which is something that must be, in order to be a true Christian.” Anyone who becomes disqualified will not “endure to the end” (compare Matthew 24:13). The Expositor’s Greek Testament comments that “The implied truth underlying this test is that there will be ample time for a full curriculum of trial testing character and sifting the true from… This is a good question, and it is an important issue that needs attention as it can have eternal consequences when it is not rightly understood. It can be misleading for those who believe the concept that “once saved, always saved” is biblical. One commentator, promulgating this erroneous concept states that, “If salvation can be lost, this requires a reversal of regeneration. This means the born again must become unborn again. And if they subsequently repent, then they must become born again again. Can a man also be born again again again? Where does it end? Is regeneration really so transient?” The simple basic flaw in this argument is that its supporters believe that they are born again now. It is also often the case that such a belief goes hand in hand with going to heaven at death. The true Church of God has consistently taught that we are begotten in this life and will be born again at the resurrection. It is interesting to note that, many years ago, a well-known British entertainer said that when he became a Christian, he asked what this would entail. He was told that he would not have to change anything in his life but to just believe… When we read 2 Samuel chapter 8, we find there is a list of the wars and military conquests of king David. It also lists who he put in charge of the various responsibilities of the army, civil service and religious service. This chapter also reveals in verse 15 a responsibility David himself had. “So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered judgement and justice to all his people.” Here we find the terms judgement and justice used. Is this a redundancy, or do these words have significantly different meanings? Again, this expression is repeated in Isaiah 9:7 which describes the kingdom which will be established at the time of the coming of Jesus Christ to the earth. “Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgement and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” Justice and judgement are translated from two different Hebrew words; justice is translated from mishpat and Judgement from tsedaqah. What is the difference between these two Hebrew words? Mishpat refers to the literal letter of the law. God gave Israel a very comprehensive law and it… Many times, we come across the concept that true Christians must be poor and live in poverty. But is this correct? Does the Bible require of true Christians to sell all they have and give it to the poor, so that they themselves become poor and dependent on others for their sustenance? Asking it this way, we should readily say how preposterous such a concept would be. We find many Scriptures in the Bible about righteous people who were rich because God blessed them. God would not have blessed them with riches and wealth if having and possessing those would be wrong. We read in Genesis 13:2: “Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold,” and Genesis 24:34-35 adds that he became rich because God had blessed him greatly. The same can be said about Abraham’s son Isaac (Genesis 26:12-14). We all know of course about the incredible riches of Solomon, surpassing all kings of the earth in riches (1 Kings 10:23), because God blessed him greatly in that regard, as 1 Kings 3:13 tells us. Later, Solomon departed from God to an extent, but not because of his wealth, but because of his inability to control himself regarding women. Job… We explained before that God chose and knew those before time began whom He would call for salvation in this day and age. But does the fact that God knew those “called-out ones” a long time ago exclude those who would not be called for salvation now? To put it differently, did God know individuals a long time ago whom He would NOT call for salvation prior to Christ’s Return? Consider this: Since God knew YOU before the foundation of the world and chose you for salvation to be called now, then God must have carefully observed—or known—your forefathers or ancestors to make sure that you would be even born in the first place. This explains the many otherwise unexplainable events of protection and survival which your forefathers might have experienced in war or in other dangerous situations. In addition, we point out in our free booklet, “Are You Predestined to Be Saved?”: In Ezra 1:1, we read that King Cyrus of Persia made a proclamation to rebuild the temple, in fulfillment of God’s prophecies in Isaiah 44:28 and Isaiah 45:1. It is interesting that these prophecies named Cyrus, even though they were written hundreds of years before Cyrus was born. However, even though God called Cyrus… We all face challenges in our daily lives. They may be related to health, our jobs, families, and other areas that are important to us. There are times when it seems that the challenges are raining down as a storm that won’t relent. Despite this, we know that we are not alone in our trials and suffering, and we understand that our brethren, and truly all men, women, and children struggle. In Matthew 26:39-44, we see a very real human Jesus, praying to the Father to let the cup of suffering pass from Him. We read: “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.’ And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away… While most people who participate in various branches of Christianity do not keep the Passover, the Bible very clearly mandates its continued observance! The Passover is viewed as a “Jewish holiday” and relegated to Old Testament practices by many religious leaders and by the public at large. Certainly, by contrast, Judaism has maintained, to a degree, the observance of all biblical Holy Days, including the Sabbath Day. However, the Church of God, which follows both the Old Testament and the earliest New Testament teachings, also continues to keep the Passover as commanded by God and in following the example of Jesus Christ, Who brought the true meaning of Passover to light. Today, the Passover is mistakenly referred to as “the Last Supper,” and false practices such as “the sacrament of the Eucharist” are broadly embraced by both Catholics, Protestants, and others. For example, from britannica.com/topic/Eucharist, in its article about “Eucharist,” Roman Catholicism’s view is presented: “Roman Catholics believe in the real presence [the concept that Jesus Christ is present in the flesh; that His body and His blood are really present and are consumed], an issue that has dominated Catholic-Protestant controversies about the Eucharist. According to the eucharistic doctrine of Roman Catholicism, the elements of the consecrated… We recently published three Q&As on the question as to what the Bible means when it says that “many are called, but few are chosen.” https://www.eternalgod.org/why-does-the-bible-say-that-some-are-called-and-chosen-in-this-day-and-age-part-1/ ; https://www.eternalgod.org/why-does-the-bible-say-that-some-are-called-and-chosen-in-this-day-and-age-part-2/ ; https://www.eternalgod.org/why-does-the-bible-say-that-some-are-called-and-chosen-in-this-day-and-age-part-3/ We pointed out that those who are called today to salvation were elected or chosen to be called before the foundation of the world—before time began. We debunked the idea that some would be called first, and only later, after having proven themselves to be worthy, they would become chosen. Rather, those who are called to salvation today had been chosen long ago by God to be called in this age. We also showed that the statement “many are called, but few are chosen” does NOT refer to a calling of many to salvation, but that only the few (“the chosen”) would make it into the Kingdom, while the many will fall away. Rather, we stated at the end of part 3: “When God foreknew, predestined and elected or chose someone, before time began, to be called to eternal salvation in this life, He expected that person to remain faithful. Many, though, who may think that they are called by God to salvation, are not truly called at…Does God bless the wicked with riches?
Why do you keep stressing the need for endurance? (Part 3)
The Biblical Counselling Coalition gives this description of dementia: “In brief, dementia is a cognitive disorder. The affected person’s thinking ability gradually deteriorates. It interferes with judgment and memory and also can create confusion, fear, and irritation. There are several types of dementia. The best known is Alzheimer’s, which was experienced by former president, Ronald Reagan.”Why do you keep stressing the need for endurance? (Part 2)
Why do you keep stressing the need for endurance? (Part 1)
What is the difference between justice and judgement?
Must Christians be poor?
Does God know unconverted people prior to their birth who would not be called in this day and age?
How can we persevere, maintain self-discipline in our mortal lives and grow in our faith?
Are Christians required to observe the Passover?
Does 2 Thessalonians 2 contradict your explanation of the biblical statement that “many are called, but few are chosen”?
