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I’m a bit confused by Acts 16:31 when the jailer went to Paul and Silas asking what must he do to be saved. They responded by saying “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-you and your household.” This appears as if Paul and Silas were saying if this Jailer believes then he will be saved with his house. If that is the case then how can I be saved and my house be saved through my believing, what if they do not accept the Lord on their own?

My question is how do I know if my motives for giving tithes and offerings are pure? I want them to be, but it seems that whenever I give I can’t help thinking of Malachi and other places where it talks about the blessings of giving. I want God to bless me, but I don’t want that to be my only motive for giving. I usually just try to commend it to God and then forget about it, but the thoughts still creep in. Do you have any suggestions?

Re: Aren’t Trials for Growth and Proving? Yes, God sees us as perfect, whole and healthy. But are we? Are we all as loving as we should be? Are we all in perfect health? No, God’s facts in the Bible (you have been perfected, you have been healed) must become a reality in our experience. This process is known as sanctification, because God’s purpose with our lives is to change us to become like Jesus in every way (Rom 8:29; Eph 1:4-5, 2:10).

For this reason James could write: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete (perfect), not lacking anything” (1:2-4).

I would like to know … can we embarrass God? Several times in Nehemiah’s prayer to God he refers to the fact that the Jews are God’s special people. They’re His “children,” His “servants,” and those for whom God made a dwelling place with His name on it. Yet these children of God acted corruptly and totally disregarded God’s commands and promises. Was God embarrassed about giving them His name? And likewise, can we embarrass God?

My question concerns the second paragraph in your answer to “The Best of Our Best”. How does your answer deal with the concept of “without blemish” as depicted in Exodus 13, Leviticus 21-22, Deuteronomy 15 and 17, Malachi 1, Hebrews 9 and 1 Peter 1?

Where do our spirits go after we die? Knowing that one of our Lord’s Names is the LORD OF SPIRITS, do we go back to our spiritual origin?

I believe Moses was about 40 when he made the decision to be among his brethren, the Hebrews, instead of being called the son of Pharaoh. He then fled to the land of Midian before God called him to lead the people. We know the people wondered in the wilderness for 40 years, Moses dying at the age of 120. How long was Moses in Egypt after he returned to lead the people? How long did it take God to perform the curses against Pharaoh and Egypt?

I was teaching a Sunday school class for adults recently and two very difficult subjects came up. One person asked me if Satan did not tempt Adam and Eve in the garden, could they have eventually sinned on their own. The second was a statement that all sins are a result of Satan or his demons tempting us. My position was that we are sometimes tempted of our own desires, but this was not well received. Can you shed some light on this for me?

Regarding the warning against judging others in Matt. 7:1-2. Paul said we are not to socialize with sinners, so isn’t that judging? Not their eternal destination, but their actions? Thanks so much for your help.

Recently I heard a good preacher say that God disciplines the Christian. This is certainly true but then he said that God can punish us as well. This is the part I have a problem with. As a Christian our salvation is guaranteed. Nevertheless we are to confess our sins and being a just God he will forgive us. I believe this will keep us in fellowship with Him. But if God forgives our sins and then punishes us for them, we would be justified in forgiving our enemies and then still punishing them for what they did to us.