First, thank you for your obedience to our Lord. May our Father bless you and yours, meeting all your needs abundantly and propsering you and yours with peace, health, and spiritual gifts abounding.

I am concerned with two passages from John’s letters. 1 John 5:16-18:

“If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death. We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.

He’s clearly speaking of a ‘brother’…someone in the faith. Then he talks about a sin that leads to death, which should not be prayed about, and a sin that doesn’t lead to death, which we should pray about. What is he referring to? And then there’s vs. 18 saying if we continue in sin, we don’t have God because if we are truly born of God, we don’t sin. This scares me. Badly!

And 2 John 1:8-9: “Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.”

Here he speaks of guarding against not losing what we worked for. And then saying that if we run ahead and not continuing in the teaching of Christ we don’t have Christ. Please explain so I may have peace of mind concerning OSAS.

Is it possible that secret societies took the Bible and rewrote it to say what they want us to know? Is there not an Almighty God that can protect the Word of God to get US the TRUTH?

Re: Luke 24:37-40.

The Lord was INVISIBLE to the disciples, and He APPEARED before them; they thought it was a ghost. What was the body of the Lord after the resurrection? Is spirit and spiritual/glorified body different?

I lived a life of terrible sin for years. When I turned to the Lord Jesus I confessed my sins in general but couldn’t remember all the sins I committed throughout my life. I now confess my sins in general occasionally ( I forget to pray many days) but don’t remember specific sins (like having lustfull thoughts). Am I still saved?

My questions are, 1) is it possible that Enoch’s writings were not included due to the scholars not wanting to believe what was written in that book?

You wrote in one of your answers “The appearance of Enoch’s quote in Jude’s epistle confirms that at least that part of 1st Enoch is authentic.” (in Enoch and Jude, ask a Bible Teacher). Also, you said the book of Enoch was written by someone else. 2) Is it possible that they were inspired by the Holy Spirit and Enoch to write them?

My question is the timing of that battle in relation to the Rapture of the Church and the signing of the peace treaty between Israel and the Antichrist.

It states in Ezekiel 39: 21-22 that when God defeats the invading army, His People Israel will “know that I am the Lord their God.” If this battle happens prior to the peace treaty with the Antichrist, why would Israel sign that treaty knowing what God had just done for them and His power to save them? Conversely, if the battle happens just after the signing of that treaty with the Antichrist, wouldn’t the invasion by this group of nations be a break in the treaty as the Antichrist will represent the world at that time?

I would just like to tell you thanks for the help first of all. But I have a question. You know it says that preachers and deacons should be of one wife. What about sunday school teachers should they also be? Where can I find the answer to what teachers should be?

Not to belabor the point, but: Belief that God is the one true God and Jesus is his son who died for our sins and rose again–believing that we are sinners in need of a savior and asking Jesus to save us–that’s ALL that’s required for salvation, right? So, the question is–all the other stuff that people read, interpret, come to believe as doctrine, or accept as fact is separate and apart from that basic requirement of belief and acceptance, isn’t it? No matter how wrong we end up getting everything else, as long as we meet the most basic requirement of our faith–which is belief–we’re saved, right?

This past Christmas we had several friends and family over to celebrate the holiday.

After the Christmas meal, it was decided to have the Lord’s Supper. I, as head of household, officiated the event. Everyone took part in it except my mother-in-law.

Come to find out from my wife recently, the reason why she abstained was she wanted to know “where I had the audacity to perform the Lords Supper in my own home without having a legally licensed pastor officiating the ceremony.”

Anyway, do you know off the top of your head where the Bible states that I, as head of household, have the authority as Jesus did to perform such ceremonies as well as “cast out demons, claim my territory over my family from evil, etc…”

In these last days I’ve been trying to live according to God’s will, and I’ve been blessed because of it. I’m struggling with one thing though, and that’s dependence on pot. I smoke almost every day – especially this time of year when I am prone to bouts of severe depression and anxiety. It’s the only thing that helps. I asked a brother about it, and he said that we should live not only according to God’s law, but to that of society as well. He suggested that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and smoking may be harmful to to our health, thus sinful to God. I want to know how God feels about it. Is smoking pot a sin?