I’ve been given to understand that when James says that faith without works is a dead faith, he’s referring to someone who’s not saved. That’s what “dead faith” seems to mean in that context. But in Romans 4:5, Paul seems to be saying that if a person does no works, his faith in Him who justifies the ungodly is counted as righteousness. In other words, he’s saved. Please help me reconcile what’s being said in James 2:20-26 and in Romans because both invoke Abraham as an example.

I have a question about 2 Thes. chapter 2. Verses 1 and 2 seem to be one sentence and continuing thought. If so, that would seem that “the coming of our Lord Jesus and our gathering together to Him” in verse 1, and “the day of the Lord” in verse 2 are the same thing. Verse 3 says it (apparently both things mentioned in verses 1 and 2) won’t happen until the man of lawlessness is revealed. Verse 8 says the lawless one will be revealed after the restrainer is removed. Obviously the revealing of the man of lawless can’t happen both before and after the same event so what am I missing?

You’ve stated that Daniel 9:24-27 tells when to expect Christ to come but it is His coming as King that it talks about. How did the Magi, taught by Daniel’s book know when he was to be born? and where is the “star” prophecy? Did the Mazzaroth display it as Psalm 19 might indicate or was it really Balaam’s prophecy in Numbers 24:17? Also did Herod die in 4 BC or is there enough doubt that recent claims of 1BC could be true?

About Matt. 7:13-17: “Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road which leads to life, and only a few find it”. Many people seem to interpret this to mean we have to add our own effort to the salvation equation by “walking the straight and narrow” as they say.

I just read an article which gave a view of 2 Thessalonians 2 that I have never heard before. The author said in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 Paul called the Temple “the Temple of God’, which could not be the case if the Church was still here, for we are the “Temple of God”(1 Cor. 3:16). I never thought of that before. And with the following verses speaking of the restrainer being taken out of the midst it fits the context perfectly. I believe there are both grammatical and contextual reasons to identify the Holy Spirit as the restrainer. What are the other views concerning the identity of the restrainer?

Re: Does God Call Everyone? I see what you are saying for the two different Greek words used for “called” in Romans 8:30 and Matthew 22:14. However, the Greek word in Romans 8:28 is also the same as the one used in Matthew 22:14. Does this mean the people in Romans 8:28 are not the same as the ones being discussed in Romans 8:30? This whole thing is really confusing.

Re: Matt 17:24-27. What is Jesus saying when he implies to Peter that foreigners must pay the tax and that the subjects are exempt? Does this have to do with being exempt from paying the penalty of sin or is there more to it, such as gov’t taxing schemes?

My pastor, associate pastor, and chairman of deacons want to have a Sunday night supper at church near Thanksgiving, and celebrate that holiday along with participating in the Lord’s Supper at the same time. Is this possible according to Baptist beliefs, and should it be kept separate from a regular meal? Please advise, since I am going to have a hard decision to make about this. I am the past Chairman, and I am against it.

If some people believe that water baptism is required for salvation, does this mean that they are not saved since they aren’t depending fully on the Lord’s work on the cross for salvation? I ask this, because I have come across people that are putting water baptism into John chapter 3, which is just a misinterpretation. I know its impossible to say if a person is truly saved or not, but if they are claiming Jesus’ death plus water baptism, is there a reason to be concerned for these people?

In your article, What did Jesus do in Hell, you said, “Of course the real issue is whether the Bible is the inspired word of God or not. If it is, then Jesus, the thief, and Lazarus all went to Paradise when they died, just like the Bible says, until Jesus went to Heaven to sprinkle His blood on the altar there and opened its gates to the spirits of all dead believers who would follow.” Since the blood of Jesus has been completely spilled out from his body according to John 19:34, how did he do the sprinkling?