Questions and Answers

Questions answered this month:

• I have been reading about what some call Replacement Theology. It is controversial to some, but I wondered, is the church the outcome of God’s covenant with Israel?
• What is the “covenant of salt” mentioned in Leviticus 2:13 and 2 Chronicles 13:5?
• Is cremation wrong? Will it affect my afterlife?
• If Lot’s family were Israelites, why were the offspring of his incestuous relationship with his daughters known as different nations?
• I keep inviting my friends to church activities, but they always seem to have something else going on that day.  I get the feeling they just don’t want to come.  What can I do?
• Why does Steven give a chapter-long history lesson to a group of experts in Jewish history (Acts 7)?
• We know that God is no respecter of persons.  How is this consistent with the Lord’s appearance to Saul and the road to Damascus?  Why was Saul selected over other Christian persecutors for this personal interaction with Jesus?
• In Genesis 3, God told the serpent he had to crawl on his belly from then on. Did that mean the serpent had legs and could walk before that moment?
• In Genesis 32:22-32, Jacob wrestled with an angel of the Lord to obtain a blessing.  Why did they wrestle?  Was it a test?
• How do I know where the line is between training my child and provoking them to wrath (Ephesians 6:4)?
• If the Ethiopian Eunuch was going to Jerusalem to worship, why did he not understand the scrolls about Jesus’ coming since it would be necessary to his faith, or was he still studying and following those of Moses?
• In light of the way the times are, I have thought about getting a gun for protection. As a Christian, would it be wrong to do so?
• The seven churches in Revelation Christ found no fault with two (Smyrna and Philadelphia). Why did these 2 churches please him?
• Is it wrong to listen to contemporary Christian or gospel music?
• Did God mistreat Job in Job 1:8, when he brought up Job’s name to Satan? Seems almost like he dared Satan to go after Job. (Of course Job ended up richer/better off after it was over, but what a terrible trial to undergo.)
• How did Moses know about suffering for the sake of Christ, while living in the Old Testament Era (cf. Heb. 11:26)?
• What was the story of Zachariah’s death (Luke 11:51)?
• Please explain the meaning of 1 Corinthians 15:29. Can the dead be saved by the living being baptized in their name?