A: Election is the act of God whereby in eternity past He chose those who will be saved. Election is unconditional, because it does not depend on anything outside of God, such as good works or foreseen faith (Romans 9:16). This doctrine is repeatedly taught in the Bible, and is also demanded by our knowledge [...]

A: Since September 11, talk of war and eliminating terrorism has dominated our lives. The atrocities committed against many unsuspecting civilians appear so obviously unjust that many of us have likely supported the war in Afghanistan without asking if we have biblical grounds to do so. Through the centuries, three main viewpoints have emerged from [...]

A: Properly understood, the doctrine of inerrancy—the teaching that the Bible contains no errors—applies only to the original copies of the biblical documents. The original writings came directly from God through human authors. The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic (cf. Genesis 31:46; Ezra 4:8-6:18; 7:12-26; Jeremiah 10:11; Daniel 2:4-7:28), and the [...]

A: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16–17).  God’s Word is inspired.  Second Timothy 3:16 speaks of the inspiration of Scripture. “Inspired” is the translation of a Greek [...]

A: Here are five helpful steps to ensure you are effectively studying God’s Word.  Step 1 — Reading Begin by developing a plan on how you will approach reading through the Bible. Unlike most books, you will probably not read it straight through from cover to cover. There are many good Bible reading plans available. [...]

A: Yes! In the Old Testament, when a person died, the biblical writers said he was “gathered to his people” (cf. Gen. 25:8; 35:29; 49:29; Num. 20:24; Judg. 2:10). In 2 Samuel 12, when David’s infant child died, David confidently said, “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” (v. 23). [...]

A: No! Heaven will be so dramatically different from the present world that to describe it requires the use of negatives, as well as positives. To describe what is totally beyond human understanding also requires pointing out how it differs from present experience. The first change from their earthly life believers in heaven will experience [...]

A: In heaven there will be no sin, suffering, sorrow, or pain. We will never do anything to displease God. There will be no persecution, division, disunity, or hate. In heaven there will be no quarrels or disagreements. There will be no disappointments. There will be no weeping because there will be nothing to make [...]

A: Most people understand that doing evil can keep us out of heaven. But few realize the Bible also teaches that doing good cannot get us in. None of us could ever gain enough merit to deserve heaven. We are sinful, and God’s standard is utter perfection. Jesus said, “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness [...]

A: Scripture is silent on the awareness of the Christian upon death. Second Corinthians 5:1?8 tells us about being clothed with our heavenly habitation, which will release us from the burdens of mortality. Verse 8 provides us with a particularly heavenly perspective: “To be absent from the body [is] to be present with the Lord.” [...]