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Question: Was it permissible to worship at the high places?

December 4, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon

Question: I have a Bible question which I don't understand—would you mind teaching me? In a Zoom Bible study originating from a Hong Kong Ministry, the teacher who is teaching suggested it is permissible to worship and sacrifice to the LORD at the high places since the Temple wasn't built yet and is forbidden after the Temple was built: But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire (Deuteronomy 7:5); And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God. But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks…. (Deuteronomy 12:3-6) 1 Kings 3:2-3 said that Solomon offered 1,000 sacrifices to the LORD at the high place at Gibeon and after that God was revealed to him and accepted him, but in 2 Chronicles 1:5 Solomon actually went to the Tabernacle and offered at the brazen altar. So, did he do the right thing? Response: 2 Chronicles 1:3 tells us that Solomon, early in his reign and before the temple was built, worshiped at a high place. Verse 3 reads, “So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness.” We know that the tabernacle was set up there. But, both Deuteronomy 7:5 and 12:3-6 clearly tell us that all the pagan materials are to be removed from the high place prior to any worship of the Lord. A “high place” itself is not a pagan location, except if the statues and the other things used in their rituals are there. Consequently, the reason Solomon worshiped at this particular high place was, as already noted, that the tabernacle was set up there. It was the same tabernacle that the children of Israel, according to the instructions given Moses, had constructed in the wilderness. Therefore, before the construction of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, the tabernacle was what God had chosen for the sacrifice and worship by Israel. It has been pointed out that Solomon’s father King David had previously worshiped the Lord at this high place in Gibeon. First Chronicles 16:39 notes, “[David left] Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place that was at Gibeon….” The tabernacle was where the altar of burnt offering had been set up (see 1 Chronicles 21:29). Again, it was not the high place itself that made it a suitable place for the sacrifices, but rather a place cleansed of all pagan paraphernalia and with the tabernacle already set up there.

Question: Should Paul's Epistles be part of Scripture?

November 27, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon

Question: What can you tell us about a group who say they are Christians, but tell us that Paul’s epistles should not be in the New Testament? Also, they say that we must learn the Scriptures through Hebrew eyes and culture. Finally, the names “Hebrews,” “Israel,” “Israelites,” and “Jews” have different meanings in today’s context and that “Israel” and “Jews” don’t mean the same people. Response: From what you have said, you very likely have met a cultist who is presenting himself as the authority when it comes to learning Scripture. The intent to help Christians understand better the Scriptures through Hebrew eyes and culture is not in itself “bad.” But, if any group places emphasis upon these aspects, such as how someone is saved, we’re only seeing through their eyes and their assumed culture. To them the Bible “must” be in error, because it contradicts what they teach. Yet, if they won’t include Paul as a part of the New Testament, consider what Peter said in 2 Peter 3:16: “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they doalso the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (emphasis added). Further, the Lord has promised to preserve His Word, as in Psalm 12:6-7: “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.” Regarding your question about the meaning of “Hebrews,” “Israel,” “Israelites,” and “Jews,” all speak of the descendants of Jacob (Israel). The Lord distinctly said that “...though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished” (Jer 30:11). As to their importance as “signs of the times,” the prophet Joel recorded that “I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land” (Jl 3:2; see also Zechariah 7, 8, 12, 14, etc.). Finally, the apostle Paul also noted that God was far from finished with the nation of Israel (Rom 11:1-25).

Question: Do Christians still commit sin?

November 20, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon

Question: Our church is teaching that Christians will not commit sins if they are truly saved. So, are scriptures such as 1 Peter 4:15 talking about unbelievers? Response: Concerning your question, 1 Peter 4:15 tells us: “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.” Peter is writing “…to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied” (1 Pet 1:1-2). It is to these believers that Jesus warns, “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief…[etc.]” (1 Pet 4:15). It is to believers that John writes in 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Consequently, Peter wouldn’t warn those who cannot sin, nor would John have written of a remedy for those who haven’t sinned. Though the saved (still living in the “old man,” i.e., the flesh) can still say, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10). Yet, Peter still warns the church in 1 Peter 4:15.

Question: If Christ paid the debt in full, then there's no need for us to repent...

November 13, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon

Question: If Christ took upon Himself the grave and the Lake of Fire, then there is no need of repentance and trusting Him for our salvation. Wouldn’t both penalties be paid in full? Response: We could not be saved unless Christ paid in full the penalty demanded by God’s judgment against our sin. The penalty of sin is death. That is the sentence death has already passed upon man and will culminate in his separation from his body and from this planet and from God forever. God cannot merely make a bookkeeping entry in heaven. The debt demanded by His justice must be paid in full for man to be pardoned. Why do we need to repent and believe in Christ if the penalty has been paid in full for everyone? The good news of the gospel is that salvation is offered to all.

Question: If eternal security is true, why are there scriptures that seem to contradict it?

November 6, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon

Question: Though I’ve read your excellent discussions on eternal security, I still need understanding of the following Scriptures—Romans 11:21-22: “...if thou continue in His goodness” sounds conditional; Colossians 1:22-23, “If ye continue in the faith…” ditto; Hebrews 3:6, 14 have the same idea; 2 Peter 2:20-22 speaks of those who have “escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord…and who were washed…being entangled again and overcome.” If these apparent contradictions could be covered in a future “Q&A,” it would be greatly appreciated. Response: The New Testament contains frequent exhortations to godly living, to “continue in the faith” and to “hold fast the confidence firm unto the end” (Hebrews 3:6, 14) and to “walk worthy of the Lord” (Ephesians 4:1; Colossians 1:10), and warns of being “cut off” (Romans 11:22). The exhortation is to two classes of people: (1) Those who are false professors, in order to show them that their lives demonstrate that they do not truly know the Lord; and (2) Christians who are living in disobedience, to warn them that if they continue to dishonor their Lord, He will severely discipline them. The latter could be “cut off” from fellowship with other believers, or from this life....

Question: Should we befriend Catholics?

October 30, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon

Question: First Corinthians 5:11 says, “But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.” Since Catholics are idolaters, where should a line be drawn in our social, familial, and work relationships with them? I frankly believe (and I used to be a strong Catholic) that we have become far too “chummy” with Catholics. Or am I just going overboard in my new zeal? Response: The many Roman Catholics who become Christians find it necessary for conscience’ sake to leave that church very shortly thereafter, as you apparently did. Catholics thus encountered as neighbors or at work are in the same category as Mormons, Buddhists, or atheists as far as your relationship with them goes. No more with a Catholic than with an atheist should you join in a business partnership or marry or otherwise enter into any relationship that could be categorized as being “unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” Such alliances are forbidden (2 Corinthians 6:1-18)...

Question: Why do Christians worship on Sunday?

October 23, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon

Question: Why do Christians worship on Sunday? I see no biblical basis to omit one commandment. I must settle this, because I want to obey the Lord. Response: We addressed this in the May ’99 TBC (see—https://bit.ly/3xv5aor). Critics claim that Constantine (or the Roman Catholic Church) changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. Who cares? No one has the power to change the Sabbath. It was and always will be Saturday. But Christians do not worship on the Sabbath, the day in which God rested from His work of the first creation. We are not part of that old creation, but each Christian is “in Christ…a new creature: old things are passed away…all things are become new” (2 Cor 5:17). Christ rose from the dead on Sunday, the first day of a new week, the “firstborn from the dead” (Col 1:18), the progenitor of a new race of born-again men and women. That is why we meet together to worship the Lord on Sunday, “the first day of the week” (Acts 20:7). Our main website: http://www.thebereancall.org Store: store.http://thebereancall.org Download our app: http://www.thebereancall.org/app In-depth research on a variety of Bible topics: https://http://www.thebereancall.org/topics Sign up for our email updates: https://http://www.thebereancall.org/subscribe

Question: How can God accept sinners into a sinless place?

October 16, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon

Question (From three Muslims): In Christianity, it is taught that everyone is born a sinner. If that is true, then how can God accept us in heaven [since] that is a sinless place? According to what standard are we judged worthy or unworthy to enter paradise/heaven? What is good enough? God requires sinless perfection, which we can never attain to by our works. Will He accept something less? How can He? Response: Your question goes to the very heart of the difference between true biblical Christianity and Islam (and all other religions). The issue is God’s infinite justice in relation to man’s undeniable sin and outright rebellion against God. As the Bible says, “All have sinned [and] the wages of sin is death” (Rom 3:23; 6:23). Even if it were possible, living a perfect, sinless life in the future could never pay the penalty for sins of the past. Justice does not work that way. Islam (like every other world religion, and much that calls itself Christianity) urges its followers to do good (the greatest “good” is to die in jihad) in the hope that their good deeds will outweigh their bad ones in the “last day” judgment. Of course, there is no court of law on earth that would release anyone from the penalty prescribed by the law because they had done “more good than evil.” Nor will God accept such a plea from anyone, including Muhammad. As for suicide bombers, they cannot pay for their sins by committing suicide, and especially not by killing innocent people in the process. It does not speak well for either Muhammad or Allah to make Paradise the reward for committing murder! Jesus Christ, who is God, became a man through a virgin birth, lived a perfect sinless life (in contrast to Muhammad whom the Qur’an commands to confess his sins), and died for our sins on the cross, paying the penalty that God’s infinite justice demanded for the sins of all mankind, and resurrected from the dead. On this righteous basis, God offers a just pardon of all sins for those who believe that Christ paid that penalty and rose from the grave.

Question: How can you believe both in God’s foreknowledge and that man has the power of choice

October 9, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon

Question: How can you believe both in God’s foreknowledge and that man has the power of choice? If God knows ahead of time that Mr. A is going to do something, how can Mr. A decide for himself? Isn’t foreknowledge the same as predestination? Response: The biblical doctrine of foreknowledge simply states that God knows everything that will happen before it happens—which, as God, He must know. Prophecy, in which God reveals His foreknowledge, is the major part of Scriptures, the great proof that God exists and that the Bible is His Word (Isaiah 42:9; 43:10; 46:9-10; 48:5, etc.). Prophecy is also the foundation of the gospel (Romans 1:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, etc.). Scripture never says or even implies that God knows all beforehand because He has caused it—much less that He must cause it in order to know it. The future is as plain to Him as the past. The future is part of time, which is part of this physical universe. God is not part of the universe (which He created out of nothing), but He is separate from it. Perhaps He observes the universe from the outside including past, present, and future time, seeing it all at once. It is not necessary for us to know how God knows the future but we know He must.

Question: Will Old Testament saints be resurrected?

October 2, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon

Question: If only those in the church are resurrected and taken to heaven at the Rapture, when do Old Testament saints get resurrected? If at the Rapture, then wouldn’t they be in the church? Response: Before Christ’s resurrection, the souls and spirits of Old Testament believers went upon death to “Abraham’s bosom” (Lk 16:22-23), where Christ’s soul and spirit went upon His death as did the believing thief crucified with Him: “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Lk 23:43). When Christ ascended to heaven after His resurrection, He took these believers with Him. It cannot only be those who died in faith in Christ since His resurrection, but Old Testament believers as well, who are described as the “saints” who come back with Christ at the Second Coming to the Mount of Olives (Zec 14:4-5; Jude 14), “those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thes 4:14) and “the dead in Christ” (v. 16) resurrected at the Rapture. If Abraham, who “rejoiced to see [Christ’s] day” (Jn 8:56) and David and Isaiah, who foretold the Crucifixion and Resurrection, are not raised from the dead at the Rapture, they never will be resurrected. The only other mention of a resurrection of believers is of those who “were beheaded [by antichrist]…which had not worshiped the beast” (Rv 20:4), completing the “first resurrection” (Rv 20:5). Old Testament saints must therefore be resurrected at the Rapture, and are in the church. All Jews and Gentiles who believe in Christ before the Second Coming are in the church. Those who (whether Jews or Gentiles) only believe when they see Christ return at Armageddon will continue alive into the Millennium as the earthly people.

Question: Can an individual who made a confession of faith cease to believe?

September 25, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon

Question: I’ve read your Q&A on eternal security, but I’m still left with this nagging question: Can an individual who made a confession of faith in Christ come to a place where he ceases to believe? Don’t we have examples of this in the parable of the sower and the seed in Matthew 13? Response: In the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:18-23), we are given examples of those who have opportunity for salvation. We believe the first example represents almost everyone in the world because no one leaves this world without being presented, in some compelling way, the hope of salvation. As Romans 1:20 states, “They are without excuse.” The analogy indicates that many are hardened against believing the gospel. The second example tells us that some will show a superficial interest in the gospel, but it won’t last long. The third example relates to those who try to make the gospel fit their hope of salvation, which is manmade and worldly. In examples one through three, the people did not believe the gospel. Only example four presents an individual who truly believes the gospel and receives eternal life. Such a person then demonstrates (not gains) the reality of full salvation by showing some degree of growth and fruitfulness in Christ.

Question: Shouldn't we pay more attention to "deliverance" ministries?

September 18, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon

Question: Scriptures such as Exodus 34:7 and Numbers 14:18 seem to indicate there is such a thing as generational sin caused by the sins of our ancestors. Shouldn’t we pay more attention to those who have been involved in “deliverance” ministries? Response: No. We should pay more attention to the context of the scriptures being used to see whether or not someone’s teaching is true to God’s Word. In both Exodus 34:7 and Numbers 14:18 God is dealing with a people according to His covenant of law. His covenant included blessings and curses; obedience brought blessings and breaking the law brought curses. Even though the sins of God’s covenant people would reap destructive consequences throughout generations, nevertheless God’s justice, grace, and mercy were made manifest to the individual. The entire chapter of Ezekiel 18 addresses that fact: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him [the righteous], and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him [the wicked]” (Ezekiel 18:20). As a basis for their insistence upon the need to “break off” iniquities of one’s father in order to free an individual, deliverance ministries lean heavily on Old Testament scriptures. Yet even those Old Testament scriptures look forward to Christ, the Servant who will bear these iniquities (Isaiah 53:11) and pardon all of them (Jeremiah 33:8). Deliverance ministries (and others who emphasize “generational sins,” “iniquities,” and “ancestral curses” affecting believers) are in danger of putting themselves under a “curse.” The New Testament clearly teaches that believers are not under the law; that “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us...” (Galatians 3:13). Therefore, those who impose the law upon believers deny the gospel and become subject to Paul’s condemnation in Galatians 1:9: “If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” Finally, “generational curses” are said by many of the deliverance teachers to be the implements of Satan and his demons to create problems for Christians. Supposedly, sins of our ancestors bring about curses for which demons are making us pay today. The primary problem with this teaching is that there is no example in Scripture of demons cursing anyone. God curses, not Satan. And even when Satan’s instruments such as Balak try to have God’s people cursed, it is of no effect (Numbers 23:23). So, while curses may be the demonically generated devices of fear and destruction in the sorcerer’s world of animists, shamans, witches, voodoo priests, and other pagans, as far as the church is concerned, they are simply part of Satan’s scam to deceive—especially experientially driven—and, consequently, spiritually gullible Christians.

Question: I think your interpretation of Daniel 12:4 is incorrect...

September 4, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon

Question: My husband and I just finished watching the video that you appeared in with Chuck Missler and Chuck Smith called “Countdown to Eternity” (see—https://bit.ly/3yvmrmb). I do have a question about a scripture you all quoted and expounded upon: “Many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase” (Dn 12:4b). You presented the view of travel and human knowledge exploding in the last days. But when I studied it, I find that is not what that verse is saying at all! It appears that Daniel is saying that many will go back and forth through the prophets (the books of the Bible, especially the prophetic passages), and knowledge of prophetic events and things to come will increase. This apparently wrong interpretation of Daniel 12:4b reminds me of the days when “everyone” seemed to be teaching that Matthew 24:40-41 referred to people “taken” in the Rapture, but further study shows this is about Tribulation times and they are “taken” in judgment, not in the Rapture. Thanks for your comments about this matter. Our main website: http://www.thebereancall.org Store: store.http://thebereancall.org Download our app: http://www.thebereancall.org/app In-depth research on a variety of Bible topics: https://http://www.thebereancall.org/topics Sign up for our email updates: https://http://www.thebereancall.org/subscribe

Question: How can Christians oppose abortion, yet believe in a God who encouraged Israel to slaughte

August 28, 2024 • Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon

Question: Psalm 137:9 is a verse which has bothered me for years: “Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.” How can Christians oppose abortion, yet believe in a God who encouraged Israel to slaughter infants and to rejoice in doing it? I’ve had non-Christians throw this verse at me and I can’t give them a good answer. Response: I, too, puzzled over this verse for years. Then one day I realized what should have been obvious: it was not God’s people who committed this horrible atrocity. Israel never conquered Babylon. It was the Medes and Persians who did so. The psalmist is not condoning such barbarous behavior. He is simply warning Babylon that she will be crushed by invaders—and that just as she rejoiced in destroying Jerusalem, so her conquerors will rejoice in destroying her, including her innocent infants.