Why was it ironic that the Jewish leaders refused to enter the Praetorium?

Sincerely,
Huh?

Dear Huh,

The irony was in their concern over ritual cleanliness while in the process of murdering an innocent Man.  The Jewish leaders wouldn’t go into the Praetorium because it was a Gentile building, and they didn’t want to be considered “unclean” because the Passover was the next day (Jhn 18:28).

These Jewish leaders were fixated with appearing clean and pious before the masses but were inwardly wicked and godless.  Jesus compared them to white-washed tombs that looked clean on the outside but were full of dead men’s bones on the inside (Matt 23:27).

     Could you please help me understand what Paul is saying or what he means in Romans 14:23?

Sincerely,
I Doubt I Understand

Dear I Doubt I Understand,

Romans 14 deals with issues of conscience.  Your conscience is that part of you that makes you feel good when you do what you believe is right, and it makes you feel bad when you do what you believe is wrong.  Sometimes, what you believe is right is actually wrong, or what you believe is wrong is actually right.
The Bible clearly teaches that we should attempt to learn and increase in knowledge, so we can better discern between good and evil (Heb 5:14).  However, as we grow, we won’t always have the right answers.  Perfect people have perfect knowledge, and the rest of us just have to make do with growing and trying to get better!
So what should you do when there is always the possibility that you might be wrong?  The Bible answer is to obey your conscience.  If you aren’t sure, obey your conscience.  That is what Rom 14:23 is talking about.  If you believe something is wrong (even if you might later find out it is fine), don’t do it because it will offend your conscience.  If you think something is okay (even though tomorrow you might learn it is a sin), be at peace with your decision.  God gives us a conscience as a compass while we are still learning and growing.

     I have a question about the unforgivable sin.  I didn't entirely understand what it meant last night, so I looked it up on the computer.  I was reading it, and while I was reading it, my mind was thinking about things that could cause that to happen.  One thing I thought was that if a person just thought, “I want to have committed this sin”, that might be enough to have done it.  I was thinking how I would not want to think that, and my mind thought that thought anyways!  I am saved and am fearful of God, and I am very scared about having thought that.  I was afraid that thinking about it was like doing the sin, and if it’s unforgivable, I don't know what to do.  I love God, and I want to have the Holy Spirit in me; I definitely do not want to reject Him!  I know I need Him.  This is the most scared I have ever been in my life, and I want to make sure that I didn't do anything by thinking that thought.  I just need to be entirely reassured; I don’t want to lose my salvation.

Sincerely,
Terrified

Dear Terrified,

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 can find comfort that you haven’t committed the unforgivable sin.

     I have always wondered that if all these things are going to happen in the Bible and in the end Satan will be defeated, can't Satan read?  These Scriptures have been translated into every language known to man.  Can't he read?  If he knows he will lose, then why even try unless it is written that it will happen, in which case, he has no free will.  In the Gospel of Judas, Judas writes that he was asked by the Lord to betray Him in order for God’s will to be carried out.  Somebody had to do it, right?  Or else how could all other things come to pass?  Either way, I try to live my life by one of Christ’s sayings, and that's to "love one another as I have loved you".  It works for me… and is reading the Bible enough?  What do the Scriptures say to you?

Sincerely,
Mystified

Dear Mystified,

You could just as easily ask the question, “Since all non-Christians will go to hell in the end, why don’t they convert? Can’t they read?”.  Anytime someone has a dishonest or hardened heart, they do things that are against logic.  This is why people murder, steal, hate, etc.  Hard hearts make for bad decisions.  The Bible describes that state as having a “seared conscience” that is incapable of seeing the truth that is right in front of them (1 Tim 4:2).  From what we can read, nobody has a harder heart than Satan.
Now let’s address the other details you mentioned.  The Gospel of Judas isn’t a Bible book; it is a fraud.  God didn’t write that book, and it has been left out of the Bible for a reason.  The Gospel of Judas is what is called an apocryphal book, and it was never accepted as authentic by the early Christians.  Read “Books Of The Apocrypha” for further details.
Now for your last question – reading the Bible isn’t enough; you have to live by it, too.  The apostle Paul said the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Rom 1:16).  When we read the words and then live by the words, then we will be saved (Jas 1:22).  You might want to read “Five Steps To Salvation” for further details on getting started in that life.

     If God has a plan for everyone, when will He show me His for me?

Sincerely,
Good To Go

Dear Good To Go,

God once told Israel that He had great plans for them, plans for a future and a hope (Jer 29:11), but He also said that they wouldn’t see those plans until they sought Him with all their hearts (Jer 29:13).
God molds our lives when we prepare ourselves to be used by Him.  Paul once told the young preacher Timothy that he needed to be a vessel prepared to be used by God (2 Tim 2:21).  When we live faithfully by God’s Word (Rom 10:17) and prepare our lives to be useful to Him, God guarantees that He has great things in store for us.