I have a question that I get a lot of different answers on.  I will admit I am a little scared to even ask this question because I think I may have committed this sin.  I have been told that it is never too late to be saved; however, some people say that is not true due to a sin called "the unforgivable sin".  I will admit I do not understand 100% what this means.  I think it may be if you die without Jesus, then you will be in trouble.  However, I am not sure what this means.  Please help me understand this so I am not scared or wondering if I have ever committed this sin.  Thank you for your time and God bless!

 

Sincerely,
Fear of Failure

Dear Fear of Failure,

The unforgivable sin is the sin against the Holy Spirit, and the fact that you are visiting this website is a pretty sure sign that you haven’t committed it.  Jesus says that any sin will be forgiven except for someone blaspheming the Holy Spirit (Mk 3:28-30).  Jesus said this to the crowd that accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan (Mk 3:23).  That crowd could have been forgiven of any sin, but instead they rejected the miracles that testified that Jesus was from God.  Contrast that crowd’s attitude with Nicodemus’ attitude.  Nicodemus understood that the only way that someone could perform a miracle was if God was with him (Jhn 3:2).  When that crowd rejected the evidence that the Holy Spirit provided (in this case, the miracles), they rejected any chance to receive the forgiveness found in Jesus’ teachings.  When we reject the truth of God (the Bible), we reject the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit’s primary job is to bring the truth of the gospel to mankind (see the post “What the Holy Spirit Does” for more details).  Someone blasphemes the Holy Spirit by rejecting the truth that the Holy Spirit sent us in the Bible.  Any sin can be forgiven if we will turn to God’s Word and obey it (Rom 10:17, Heb 5:9), but there is absolutely no hope for someone if he or she will not accept the Holy Spirit’s Bible.

Therefore, since it seems that you are actively seeking the truth and trying to study and learn what God’s Word is – you have not committed the unforgivable sin.

I am a christian, but there is one thing I've always been confused about. Hundreds of times throughout the Bible (Old and New Testaments) we are told to "fear the Lord" (Some examples are Deu 10:20, Ps 2:11, Ps 112:1, and Eccl 3:14), but then in certain passages it says that if God lives in you, there is no fear (like 1 Jn 4:18).  This seems to be terribly contradictory and confusing.  Can you explain it to me, please?

 

Sincerely,
Panic Attack

Dear Panic Attack,

The word ‘fear’ is used in two senses throughout the Bible.  ‘Fear’ is sometimes used to mean ‘terror and dread’.  This can easily be seen in the verses like Heb 13:6 and Acts 16:29.  This is the way we use the word ‘fear’ in our modern speech.  However, there is a second distinctly different meaning for ‘fear’.  ‘Fear’ can also refer to ‘respect and reverence’.  When God tells a woman to fear her husband – that means to respect him (Eph 5:33).  It wouldn’t make sense for God to command a wife to be terrified or to dread her husband.  This is also what is meant when God commands servants to fear their masters (1 Pet 2:18).

When God tells us to fear Him, He means that we should revere and honor Him above all others (1 Pet 2:17).  We should never forget that God is in control and mightier than us; those who forget to respect and revere God will be condemned (Rom 3:16-18).

However, when we turn to God and devote ourselves in love to Him, we no longer need to fear Him as our enemy.  When we love God and draw near to Him, He draws near to us (Jas 4:8).  We can now approach God as our Father (Rom 8:15).  As we perfect our love for God, we need no longer tremble in terror (which is one type of fear) because our respect and reverence (another type of fear) for our Heavenly Father has allowed us to boldly approach Him without fear of judgment (1 Jn 4:16-18).

I have a question about the end times.  I have been looking online, and I get a ton of websites or even videos that talk about what the Bible says are the end warning signs.  Most websites and videos agree that the end is very close.  Do you agree with this?  I know that no man will know the exact time, but I guess we could know about when if the signs are met.  I think that the world is getting so bad and that the end would have to be getting close, but I could be wrong. However, I do see the world getting worse and not better...and it scares me...

 

Sincerely,
Forecast: Unknown

Dear Forecast: Unknown,

There are a great many people – as you have noticed – with many opinions about when the world will end, but the truth is nobody knows because God doesn’t say.  God told the Thessalonians that the end would come “like a thief in the night” (1 Thess 5:2).  If anything, the one thing you can count on is that it won’t be when people say it is.  In truth, a christian shouldn’t worry about when the end will come… we should live every day like the end could be today.

Paul told the Thessalonians (who were quite fixated with the return of Christ) that they should live every day soberly, as if any day might be the day (1 Thess 5:4-6).

People have been using details from the book of Revelation to “predict” the end of time for centuries.  Unfortunately, the book of Revelation has nothing to do with the end of time.  Revelation is a book dedicated to what would “shortly come to pass” (Rev 1:1).  Specifically, Revelation dealt with the coming persecution that the church of the first century was about to face.  It is a figurative and symbolic book (Rev 1:1 – notice the word ‘signified’, that means ‘symbolic’) that God used to prepare those saints for the trials they had ahead of them (see our post “Left Behind” for more details).  Beware of anyone that uses the book of Revelation to “forecast” the end of time – they are using the book out of context.

The other thing that we must be aware of is that every generation and every individual (us here at AYP included) is convinced that things are getting worse.  Every generation has felt that things were getting so bad with the world that the end of the world must be soon.  God warns us about the habit of constant pessimism (Eccl 7:10).  There will come a time when the world is so wicked that God will destroy this earth, but that will only happen after He has given as much time as is needed for mankind to repent of their sins (2 Pet 3:9-10).  Since we do not know when that day is, let us live every day with holy living and godliness (2 Pet 3:11-12).

Why are there so many churches on the earth today?  Shouldn’t we all be unified and agree on what Christ said we should do?

 

Sincerely,
Unity Matters

Dear Unity Matters,

There was only one church in the first century, and today there are well over 33,000 different denominations all professing to belong to Christ.  This is not only tragic, it’s wrong.  Christ died for one church, and He gave us one doctrine (Eph 4:4-6).  Christianity can only be preserved in the “unity of the Spirit” (Eph. 4:3).  This means that the only way we can have unity is to use the standard the Holy Spirit has given us – the Bible.

All the denominations have their own creed books, statements of faith, organizational structures, and opinions.  Christ’s church has none of those.  It has one book, the Bible, as its rule and standard for all behavior.  It is our guide for all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3).  It is the book that was handed down once and for all to the saints (Jude 3).  We cannot have faith without hearing this Word (Rom 10:17), and we cannot please God without obeying its commandments (Jhn 15:14).

The Catholics trust their Vatican leadership, the Protestants reform a broken system, and the community churches pledge loyalty to their communities and social programs.  The only solution to the religious confusion is a radical step… restoration of Bible-only principles.  Let us go back to the Bible for everything that we do, and if we cannot find Bible authority for something… we must refuse to practice it.  A church that finds its roadmap and structure in the Bible alone is the real solution to the division that exists in the religious world.  When the Bible speaks, let us speak – and when it is silent, let us be silent.

How do I find who wrote all the books of the Bible?

 

Sincerely,
Nom De Plume

Dear Nom De Plume,

Most of the books of the Bible tell us who wrote them, however some of the writers remain unknown.  Regardless of whose hand held the pen, the author of the entire Bible is God (see the post “Who Wrote The Bible?” for more details).  Here is a list of all the books of the Bible and the writers of each of them.  These writers are known because history tells us they wrote the books, or they are known because the books themselves mention who wrote them.  We have only included the names of the books that are not titled after the writers (i.e. we excluded the book of Isaiah because Isaiah wrote it, and the title makes the writer self-evident).

In the Old Testament:

• Genesis through Deuteronomy – Moses
• Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel – mostly written by Samuel
• 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles – Unknown
• Book of Esther – Unknown
• Book of Job - Unknown
• Psalms – mostly written by David
• Proverbs – mostly written by Solomon
• Ecclesiastes & Song of Solomon – Solomon
• Lamentations – written by Jeremiah

In the New Testament:

• Book of Acts – Luke
• Romans through Philemon – the apostle Paul
• Hebrews – Unknown
• Book of Revelation – The apostle John

A good Bible encyclopedia (such as the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) is a great resource for finding out who, when, and why all of the books of the Bible were written.  Finding out the context surrounding the books of the Bible is a tremendously helpful bit of knowledge that will help enrich your Bible study.