Hello Mark. Thanks for your question. The simple answer is No. No one has ever automatically been banished to hell. God has always granted salvation on an individual basis. There are two requirements that have always been the same, and those two requirements are faith and obedience. From the beginning of time, those two things are all that God has required of anyone in order to be saved. The only thing that has changed over time has been the specific laws that God has given men to obey. Today we live under the new covenant law of Christ, and if we have faith, and obey what we are told in the new covenant, we will absolutely be saved. Pleas let me know if you would like to study this topic in m ore detail. I would be happy to study with you. God bless.

Excuse me but could you clarify your comment please.

Hello Cliff. I appreciate your question. My answer is that I couldn’t see why anyone would frown upon serving you the Lord’s supper. But my question to you is, have you considered being baptized for the forgiveness of your sins? If you believe in God as He is revealed in the scriptures, and if you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that He died and shed His blood so that you could be forgiven, than why not repent of your sins and be baptized so that God will forgive your sins? That seems like the next step for you to take, if you are truly sincere about your belief. Can I help you in any way? Do you have any remaining questions about what God wants you to do in becoming a member of the Lord’s body? Please let me know if I can help in any way. I would be glad to do whatever I can for you. God bless you in your faith.

Hello Benjamin. Thanks for your question. Yes of course Christians can play the piano or any other musical instrument outside of the worship assembly. I believe the question would be, would it be proper play musical instruments as accompaniment to our singing of hymns and spiritual songs while outside of the worship assembly. It would seem to me that if we are engaging in the singing of such songs, even outside of the worship assembly, that we would still be worshipping God, and therefore we would want to do only what we know would be pleasing to God in such times of praise and worship. I can’t refer you to any specific scripture that deals directly with this scenario, however it sounds logical to me that if the Lord wants us to worship Him in singing alone, without anything “added”, while in the worship assembly, then He would also want us to do so in any other “worship” setting as well. Please let me know how you feel about this, and thanks again for your question and your interest. I will add however, that I have known Christians who don’t agree with me on this issue, and who believe that it’s perfectly fine to use instruments while singing spiritual songs outside of the assembly.

I’m unclear if the church would frown upon this with me.

Thanks,
Cliff

Thanks for your interest, and thanks for your comments. In response to your question about the time at which we partake of the Lord’s supper, the scriptures don’t specify any particular time, and so like so many things that aren’t specified, we are at liberty to simply use our own best judgment as to what is most expedient for our congregation. As for the word “supper” referring to an evening meal, I don’t believe that meaning is at all being referred to in the scriptures, since the one and only time the phrase “Lord’s supper” is found, is in 1 Cor 11:20. That word “supper” is used 16 times in the scriptures, but I don’t see where any of those instances refer to any specific time. Many times the word is used in parables concerning “feasts” or “banquets” which could have occurred at any time of day. While it is true that the original Greek word is sometimes used to refer to a “main meal”, it still doesn’t really carry any specific time frame with it. I do think that we can scripturally say that the “Lord’s supper” is indeed a Christian’s “main meal”, no matter what time of day it is partaken of. Thanks again for your thoughts and comments. God bless.

Thank you for your comments and questions. To your first question.. No, I did not say that a person would need not be baptized again. The Lavista “pastor” is correct. Repentance is all that is needed to be brought back into fellowship with God. And as for your second question regarding “calling in the name of the Lord”.. Yes I am saying that that phrase has nothing to do with saying the Lord’s name, or saying anything for that matter. The phrase “calling on” refers to making an appeal. For example, when you “call on the Lord” you are appealing to the Lord for something. You might be making an appeal through prayer, “calling on the Lord” in prayer. And it’s not just acknowledging Christ’s authority. It is appealing to His authority. You are specifically asking the Lord for something. In Acts 22:16, Saul, the future apostle Paul, was told to “arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name”. That phrase, “calling on His name” means to make an appeal to His authority. In this specific case, Saul was told to make an appeal to the Lord, to “wash away” his sins. God’s command, given through Ananias, was to be baptized for the purpose of having his sins “washed away”. It is the Lord, and the Lord only who can forgive (wash away) sins. Therefore, when Saul obeyed the Lord’s command to be baptized, he was doing it foe the purpose of having his sins forgiven. In other words, Saul was “calling on the authority of the Lord” to wash away his sins.

Thanks for your input. Yes indeed, being a Christian is truly a 7 day a week responsibility. And God’s word does truly empower us and encourage us to do everything that God wills that we do for Him during our lifetime here on earth, and to prepare ourselves for eternity to come. Thanks for reading and for commenting.

Thanks for contacting us Robert. Are you wanting a beginning bible course, or more advanced course? I’m assuming a beginning course. I’ll get one sent off to you as soon as I can.

Thank you sir. My name is Jim Carlsen. May God bless you in your study and your evangelistic efforts. Please let me know if I can help you in any way.