“Why did God require animal sacrifices in the Old Testament?”……Answer: God required animal sacrifices to provide temporary forgiveness of sins and to foreshadow the perfect and complete sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Leviticus 4:35, 5:10). Animal sacrifice is an important theme found throughout Scripture because "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Hebrews 9:22). […]

“Why did God love Jacob and hate Esau (Malachi 1:3; Romans 9:13)?”……Answer: Malachi 1:2-3 declares, "'I have loved you,'" says the LORD. But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’ ÔÇÿWas not Esau Jacob’s brother?' the LORD says. ÔÇÿYet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into […]

“Why did God allow incest in the Bible?”……There are numerous examples of incest in the Bible. The most commonly thought-of examples are the sons/daughters of Adam and Eve (Genesis 4), Abraham marrying his half-sister Sarah Genesis 20:12 And she really is my sister, for we both have the same father, but different mothers. And I […]

“What is the Kingdom of God?”……The kingdom of God is the rule of an eternal sovereign God over all creatures and things (Psalm 103:19Daniel 4:3). The kingdom of God is also the designation for the sphere of salvation entered into at the new birth (John 3:5-7), and is synonymous with the "kingdom of heaven."……The kingdom […]

“How does God’s sovereignty and mankind’s free will work together in salvation?”……It is impossible for us to fully understand the relationship between God's sovereignty and man's free will and responsibility. Only God truly knows how they work together in His plan of salvation. With this doctrine, probably more so than with any other, it is […]

“What is the difference between God’s sovereign will and God’s perfect will?”……Answer: When speaking of God's will, many people see three different aspects of it being revealed in the Bible. The first aspect of it is known as God's decretive, sovereign, or hidden will. This is God's “ultimate” will. This facet of God's will comes […]

In what way does God use guilt today? When we talk about God’s using guilt, it sounds strange to many people in our society because there’s a widespread notion that guilt is something that is intrinsically destructive to human beings and that to impose guilt on anybody is wrong. The idea then emerges that God […]