Fourth Year Ministries

Q: For the Christians now, after Jesus came, do we need to literally take a day of rest (sabbath) and keep it holy by not doing work? A: Great question! This is a very important and potentially massive area of study for the interested believer. A quick glance through a concordance, such as Strong's Exhaustive , will reveal that the Sabbath is mentioned at least once in 145 different verses of Scripture (I used my Bible searching software, BibleWorks 8 to find these references). While a true “Sabbath theology” can only be constructed and understood after careful study of all of these passages in their context, the question above can be answered without such in-depth consideration. For the purposes of this answer, we will cover a basic understanding of Sabbath theology with an emphasis on how this relates to the New Testament follower of the Messiah Jesus. If you are interested in a more in-depth study of the Sabbath as it was revealed through the Hebrew Bible (our “Old Testam...

Question –“What do you think about: gold dust, diamond dust and gems appearing in church services? Do you think they are from God?” A: I have to admit, when I first read this question I had no idea what the Questioner was talking about. I had not heard of these things or even similar things happening. So I figured I had better find out if in fact they were happening and under what circumstances. With a little surfing of the Internet, I was able to find several stories relating to this claimed phenomenon. Case One: A small church in San Juan, Puerto Rico, had reported that precious gems had miraculously appeared during their church services. These included what appeared to be diamonds, gold, silver, topaz, emeralds, and rubies. They also claimed that mysterious oil with the fragrance of roses began pouring from their ceiling and walls. They assert that the numbers of precious stones that appear are based on their worship and adoration as they praised God. They even claim th...

Q: In 1 Timothy 4 we read, "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth." (vs 1-3). I believe that one could see this in the history of the Catholic church (as an example) in that priests were not allowed to marry and meat was to be abstained from on Fridays. Is it going too far, and going beyond what Scripture says, to apply this principle to the other extreme? Can, by a seared conscience, a teacher indicate that anything is permissible (opposed to "forbid" and "abstain") as the believer is the 'Righteousness of Christ' and is already forgiven? And when I say "anything", I mean thi...

In this final part of the series on the question, "What is salvation and can you lose it?", we will turn our attention to the difficult subject of "apostasy." If you missed the first four parts, you can read them here: Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , and Part 4 . As we've surveyed issues relating to salvation, it seems clear that the gift of God in eternal life is not something that can be lost or stolen from the individual who repents and places their faith in Christ. Thank God, for this is good news indeed! However, this does not appear to be the end of the story -- and there is a danger of "giving up" or "forfeiting" this salvation based on our own stewardship of the gift we have received (1 Timothy 4:1-3). Paul apparently recognized this danger in his own life when he states plainly regarding his "freedom in Christ": I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. 24 Do you not k...

Q: What is salvation and can you lose it? There's the saying "once saved always saved". Using the scripture that no one is able to snatch them out of the Fathers hand. (John 10:29) but it says in verse 27 My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me. So the no snatching is referring to those who hear and follow, in other words who are obedient to His Word. So, the ones that do not heed the call of the Lord and follow can be snatched? What about sin hardening the heart? (Hebrew 3:13) Shipwrecked faith? (1Tim 1:19) I have heard the saying - "It's not how you start the race but how you finish it." In Hebrew 3:14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, If you aren't a true follower of Christ then how can you have the strength on your own to even run the race. It is because of Christ and who He transforms you to be that you would even want to ...

After taking a look at the past ( Part 1 ) and present ( Part 2 ) elements of salvation, it's time to turn to the future element of salvation. To briefly recap, salvation is being rescued from the penalty of sin (the past element) and the power (the present element) of sin, death and the devil by the grace of God. In the future , we will be saved from the presence of sin. God is Holy and Righteous, so no sin can dwell in His manifest presence (Habakkuk 1:13; Psalm 5:5; 76:7; 130:3) and in the final state (what some theologians refer to as "The Eschaton") God will be manifestly present among His people in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:1-4). Since this is the case, sin will necessarily be dealt with fully and finally prior to ushering in the final state of Heaven at a time yet future (see these posts for more about the current state of Heaven and Hell ) by God. As part of the coming judgment , God will bring every thought, word and deed into light and wil...

In Part 1 we looked at the reality that salvation has a past element and that for those who have received salvation, they have been saved from the wrath of God, the penalty of Adam's rebellion (enslavement to the Devil) and the penalty for their own personal sin. In Part 2 we will now turn to the facet of salvation that deals with the present . God does not offer salvation simply to save us from the penalty and power of sin, but also for something else: His glory. If the past element of salvation can be summarized as a being rescued from the penalty of sin, then the present element can be summarized as being set free from the power of sin. Understanding that Adam's rebellion against God sold humanity into slavery to death and the Devil should lead us to understand that the Enemy of our souls was given great power over us to deceive and lead us towards destruction. Jesus explicitly taught that the Devil is a liar and had strong words for the "religious" o...