QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (119)

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.   I asked Chat gpt to provide me with a good quote about questions.  Here is what was provided:  “Live the questions now” by a poet named Ranier Maria Rilke.

1.    All of life is about questions and answers.

2.    We ask questions and live out the answers to those questions in our lives.

 

B.   If we cease to be curious and ask questions, life becomes stagnant, stale, boring, and fruitless. 

 

C.   This is why we encourage you to ask questions for our Q&A Sundays. 

1.    This is the first Sunday of the month.

2.    We will be answering four (4) of your questions.

 

I.             QUESTION 1:  Satan

 

A.   Stated:  Can Satan be saved?

 

B.   Answer:

1.    A simple answer to this question is found in two verses.

a.    Matthew 25:41

 

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.

 

b.    Revelation 20:10

 

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

 

2.    We might wonder why?

a.    Because of the kind of being he was when he sinned, that is, an angel

b.    Because of the type of sin he committed against God, rebellion against God

c.    Because of the heart and character he developed by transgressing God’s will, stubborn, cold, and hard

d.    Because God’s divine law is different for angels than for men

3.    It is interesting in Scripture that we never read about the devil’s lamenting the fact that he rebelled against God, nor that he is God’s archenemy.

 

II.           QUESTION #2:  Baptism and salvation

 

A.   Stated:  What is the difference between being saved and being baptized?

 

B.   Answer:

1.    Baptism is part of the process of salvation.

a.    Process:  a systematic series of actions directed to some end.

b.    The process of salvation involves many elements:  God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the blood of Jesus, the Word of God, faith, obedience, repentance, to name a few.

c.    NOTE:  Not any one thing in the process saves by itself.  The entire process has to be completed in order for the end result to come to pass.

Being saved is the end result of the process.

Mark 16:16

 

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved…

 

2.    Baptism is the act of being immersed in water (Acts 8:38).

 

And he commanded the chariot to stand still:  and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

 

Being saved involves being completely cleansed of one’s sins (Col. 2:12-13)

 

Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.  And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.

 

NOTE:  It is not the water of baptism, however, that saves.  Water can only cleanse the flesh of a man.  It is this act of faith that brings one in touch with the death of Christ wherein Jesus’ blood was shed.  It the watery grave of baptism, the soul comes in contact with the blood of Christ and sins are forgiven (Rom. 6:3).

 

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

 

3.    Baptism is faith in action.

a.    Acts 8:36-37

 

And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water:  and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

 

1)    Philip had been preaching Jesus unto him (Acts 8:35).

2)    To preach Jesus involves preaching about baptism.  How else did the eunuch come to make the request to be baptized (Acts 8:36).

3)    Philip told him that if he believed with all his heart, he could be baptized (Acts 8:37). 

4)    The eunuch confessed that Jesus is the Son of God and was baptized (Acts 8:37-38).

5)    Preaching produced faith (Rom. 10:17).  That faith moved the eunuch to be baptized.

 

Being saved is the action of God’s grace once faith has acted.

a)    Grace and faith

1)    Grace and faith are linked together (Eph. 2:8).

 

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:  it is the gift of God.

 

2)    Faith provides access into the grace of God (Rom. 5:1-2).

 

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:  by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

 

 

3)    Grace is found in Christ (2 Tim. 2:1).

 

Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

 

4)    The only way to get into Christ, where grace is found, is to be baptized into Him (Gal. 3:26-27).

 

For ye are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.  For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

 

III.         QUESTION #3:  Circumcision

 

A.   Stated:  How did one know if someone had been circumcised?

 

B.   Circumcision involves the cutting away of the foreskin of the male sexual organ.

 

C.   God gave circumcision to Abraham as a sign of the covenant He made with this man of faith (Gen. 17:10-11).

 

This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man among you shall be circumcised.  And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

 

D.   The questioner asks:  How would someone know if someone had been circumcised?  There are three ways it would be known.

1.    Individuals would assume that Jews were circumcised.

a.    Jews took their covenant with God seriously. 

b.    It was so recognized that the Jews were known as “the Circumcision” (See Gal. 2:7-9).

c.    Even after the death of Jesus on the cross, some of the Jews wanted to bind circumcision upon the Gentiles (Acts 15:1.

 

And certain men which came down from Judea, taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

 

d.    The assumption could also be safely assumed if a person were a proselyte or simply a stranger who desired to keep the Passover (Exo. 12:48).

2.    Another way to find out if a person had been circumcised would be to ask the individual.

a.    When Paul first came into contact with Timothy, he was not circumcised.  This was because his father was a Greek.

b.    Before Paul took him on his second missionary journey, he had Timothy circumcised because they would be ministering to the Jews (Acts 16:3).

 

Him (Timothy) would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters:  for they knew all that his father was a Greek. 

 

1)    Timothy would be introduced.

2)    Many Jews of the region knew his father was a Greek.

3)    The will of the father prevailed in the home.  Thus, they would assume Timothy was not circumcised.

4)    A Jew, therefore, would ask if Timothy had been circumcised.

3.    The third way was for an individual to physically prove he had been circumcised. 

4.    NOTE:  Circumcision was performed at the Temple on the 8^th day of a child’s life.  However, there were no official temple records of those circumcisions.  Too, there were no certificates of circumcision given to the parents.

 

 

IV.         QUESTION #4:  Mission work for February

 

A.   Stated:  What mission work will we be supporting during the month of February with the contributions over budget?

 

B.   Answer:

1.    Last month all money over budget went to the work in Nigeria.  We contributed $2,831.00 over budget.

2.    This month, we will be assisting our brothers and sisters at the Dean Road congregation.

3.    Dean Road has been a very important church in Jacksonville for many years.  It is needed in the community where it is located.

4.    There are a couple of different avenues that are being discussed to help make Dean Road very stable once again.

a.    Forming a Spanish work there

b.    The Florida School of Preaching will use it as a satellite location

5.    We have assisted with monetary donations in the past.  Too, we have provided our lawn equipment so they can take care of their lawn needs. 

6.    NOTE:  They have always been extremely appreciative of the assistance OceanSide has provided them.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.   What a mix of questions we have answered:  Satan, baptism, circumcision, and a mission work.

 

B.   Only the Bible could present us with such a mixed bag of subjects to cover.

 

C.   Today, physical circumcision is no longer a requirement of entering into a covenant relationship with God.  However, He does require the circumcision of the heart (Rom. 2:29).

 

But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit…

 

1.    In repentance, an individual cuts away the sin and iniquity of the heart.

2.    In baptism, that sin is washed clean by the precious blood of Christ.

3.    One arises from the waters a new creature having a new heart before God.