Re: Is Alcohol a Sin I have been reading the questions and answers to the issue around alcohol and Christianity. I would like to look at this issue from a different angle. Jesus is our example of how we should live as Christians and He is the one we should be following. We should not look for excuses to do the things that sinners do, we should look to do what is righteous and holy before God. The Church is weak in power today because of compromise. We will see a lot more miracles and people being saved if we keep our heart and mind pure before Him. The problem with alcohol is that it clouds our judgment and changes our thinking and the way we conduct ourselves in front of others.

Would you say that OSAS is modeled in the Old Testament through God’s relationship with the nation of Israel? The covenant that God made with Abraham in Genesis 15:9-21 was a one-sided covenant with God as the only participant demonstrating the “union” side and Israel’s on again off again relationship with God over the years representing the “fellowship” portion. What do you think?

Can Satan know things about our future and then make those things come true? I know he can’t be 100% accurate like God is, but are there things he knows about our future, and can he work behind the scenes to make those things come true?

When I compare Genesis 1:1 with John 1:1 I see a huge difference, but I’m asking for your opinion. Isn’t John 1:1 much more ancient than Genesis 1:1? His being has to predate His work, does it not?

With all the talk about guns lately, it is making me wonder if we should get one. What do you consider to be the biblical perspective of a Christian having a gun for protection purposes?

I was reading through James and stumbled upon James 4:4. I’ve been taught that having possessions and hobbies are okay, as long as they don’t become the center of my life and get in the way between me and God. But after reading this verse, I’ve found anything I do for fun to be a bit disconcerting. I know in all things I should act for the Lord, but if I’m just playing a sport or watching a movie, I find it hard to connect that with God in some way; it seems impossible. I was hoping for your respected opinion on this matter.

I was born again five years ago and I’ve told my friends and family about Jesus, the coming rapture and all that. I’ve also given out tons of tracts to strangers. I’ve written articles online and posted them in high-traffic areas. I’ve prayed for people I know who are unbelievers, to come to Christ. But as far as I can tell, nobody has! Am I doing something wrong? Maybe I’m not really a watchman after all?

In John 3 Jesus was baptizing people and John’s followers got into an argument with a Jewish man about purification. Could water baptism have been born out of this Jewish rite of purification? Does it mean that our spirits are now clean like purification meant that their bodies were clean for ceremonies? I was just curious trying to understand how the argument came up during the time of water baptism.

Your explanations on the difference between Union and Fellowship have been very helpful to me in quelling the fears about a salvation that can seem so tenuous when it is not properly understood. I was just about to breath a big sigh of OSAS relief until I re-read the “cutting off the hand that causes you to sin” teaching in Matt. 5:29-30. Jesus seems to be saying that we must excise sin in our lives with drastic measures or there is a danger that we could go to hell. Do we just content ourselves with all the clear passages of OSAS and write this off as an unclear teaching? Do we assume that Jesus is saying something other than that sin will cause us to go to hell if we don’t take measures to quash it?

Do You think Judas was a believer when He was chosen to be one of the 12? And if he wasn’t why did the Lord choose him? I don’t believe in predestination so I don’t believe Judas was predestined to betray the Lord. What do you think?