OceanSide church of Christ
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QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Victor M.
Eskew
INTRODUCTION
A.
Religious questions have
always been in the minds of men and women.
B.
One of the first questions
to be asked of Jesus is found in Matthew 12:10.
And, behold,
there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful
to heal on the Sabbath days? That
they might accuse him.
C.
The purposes of religious
questions are many:
1.
To inquire for a legitimate
answer.
2.
To entrap the one who is
asked the question.
3.
To incite an
argument.
D.
The Bible teaches us several
things about answering questions.
1.
Be ready to answer (I Peter
3:15).
But sanctify the
Lord God in your hearts: and be
ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope
that is in you with meekness and fear.
2.
Do not answer a fool if it
makes you like him (Prov. 26:4).
Answer not a
fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto
him.
E.
Over the past several months, we have received a few
questions from members of
1.
Some of these have been
answered in bulletin articles.
2.
Some we have kept in order
to provide answers within a lesson.
3.
Let’s begin by looking at a
question about cremation.
I. CAN
ONE BE CREMATED AND STILL GO TO HEAVEN?
A.
Cremation: The act of reducing a corpse by
burning.
B.
Until the mid-1800s,
cremation was opposed by most religious groups in Christendom. There were many reasons for
this:
1.
Many thought the body was
holy since it was the instrument that accomplished the Lord’s will (Rom.
6:12-13).
2.
It was also believed that
the body is an integral part of the person and should be disposed of with
reverence and honor.
3.
There was also the belief
that cremation had it origins in pagan practices.
4.
Lastly, most sought to
follow the steps of Jesus who was buried in a tomb instead of being burned
(Matt. 27:57-60).
C.
Of late, cremation has
become more popular.
1.
Cost: It is usually cheaper to
cremate.
2.
Psychological: Some would rather be burned than to have
their remains rot in the ground.
3.
Stigma: There is more acceptance of the practice
by religious groups.
4.
Environmental: Cremation is a safer environmental
practice.
D.
The question still remains,
however, can one be cremated and get to heaven?
1.
Let’s ask a couple of other
questions:
a.
Can one donate his body to medical science?
b.
Can one be embalmed?
c.
Can one be buried at sea?
2.
The Bible does not legislate on the matters of
burial.
a.
Most people who died in the Bible were buried either in tombs or in the
ground (Abraham buried Sarah, Gen. 23:3-4).
b.
However, just outside of
1)
It was a place of continual burning.
2)
The bodies of criminals, outcasts, and the poor were often burned in this
place.
3.
How one’s body is disposed of at death is a matter of personal
decision. Whatever method is
chosen, the body returns to the dust (Eccl. 12:7).
Then shall the
dust return unto the earth as it was…
E.
Whatever happens to the body
after death will not prevent the Almighty God from resurrecting
it.
1.
John
5:28-29.
Marvel not at
this: for the hour is coming, in
the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth;
they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done
evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
2.
Revelation
20:12-13.
And I saw the
dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is
the book of life: and the dead were
judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their
works. And the sea gave up the dead
which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in
them: and they were judged every
man according to their works.
II. WHAT HAPPENS TO
THE MAN WHO BELIEVES, REPENTS, AND CONFESSES, BUT DIES BEFORE BAPTISM? Is he condemned, or is heart right
enough with God to be saved?
A.
A
question like this can fall into the category of one designed to
entrap.
1.
It is a question that is
emotionally charged because it deals with eternal salvation or eternal
condemnation.
2.
Many times the one who asks
the question already has his/her mind made up about the
matter.
B.
To answer this question, we
must turn to the Word of God with rationality and faith.
1.
Isaiah
8:20.
To the law and
to the testimony: if they speak not
according to this word, it is because there is no light in
them.
2.
I
Peter 4:11.
If any man
speak, let him speak as the oracles of God…
C.
The Bible is the inspired
Word of God (II Tim. 3:16).
Whatever it says is true because it is from God who cannot lie (Titus
1:2). What does the Bible say about
baptism and salvation?
1.
Two
verses.
a.
Mark 16:15-16.
And he said unto
them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall
be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
b.
I Peter 3:21.
The like figure
whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth
of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
2.
These two verses are very
plain. One must be baptized in order to be
saved. If one is not baptized, he
is not saved.
3.
NOTE: There is not one
example of a person that was saved without being baptized after Jesus died on
the cross and after Acts 2. If so,
where is it?
a.
Some will try to argue that the thief on the cross is an example of one
save without baptism.
b.
Answers:
1)
First, he is not an example of one saved without baptism after Jesus’
death and after Acts 2.
2)
Second, those who use the thief cannot prove that he was never
baptized. They assume that he was
not. He could have been baptized by
John the Baptist. Who is willing to
stake his soul’s salvation on an assumption?
CONCLUSION
A.
Both questions were asked in
such a way that they revolve around a person’s interest in eternal
salvation.
B.
Eternity should be in the
minds of everyone.
1.
What we do here has eternal consequences beyond.
2. Our last question shows the importance of doing what one knows to do immediately. If you have the knowledge of what you need to do to be saved, then “O, Why Not Tonight”?