QITB - Questions in the Bible - is a series of articles based on questions that were actually asked in the Bible. They are on a variety of topics for that very reason, so they will be grouped in the category 'questions in the bible' on the right side.

In the gospel of John chapter 18 Jesus is on trial before Pilate. Pilate asks a question that is still being asked today, “What is truth?”. Whether Pilate was sincere in his desire to know or not does not change the fact that this is a question that we need to answer. Pilate certainly asked the right person. If anyone would know about truth it would be Jesus, the divine Son of God. It is interesting that Pilate did not wait for the answer. Jesus had just said that He came to bear witness to the truth and that anyone of the truth would listen to him. Pilate would not listen, will you?

There are literally millions of people living today who do not even believe in an absolute truth. They do not believe that some things are always wrong and other things are always right. The Bible and Jesus both make it clear that there is truth and that the truth, that is one truth not many different truths, is for everyone. Truth is mentioned over 200 times in the Bible and not one of those times does it teach that truth is subjective or that the circumstances or situation makes a difference in truth. 

We can see a difference in matters of opinion and in matters of right and wrong if we will just think about it. Without even dealing with religion we know that some things do not matter. For example: What is your favorite food?, What is your favorite color?, etc. We know that these things deal with opinion. If I think red is the most beautiful color and you think it is ugly we can agree to disagree. I don’t have to stop liking red and you don’t have to start liking it. These things are matters of opinion. On the other hand, if someone were on top of a building and about to step off, there should be no disagreement between us about what would happen if they were to step off. Everyone beyond a certain age knows that the person would fall. We understand that gravity pulls everything toward the ground even if we don’t understand how or why. This is truth (it does not matter whether you believe it or not, whether you are male or female, what religion you are, what your ethnic background is or what country you live in) it does not change and we would be wasting our time to try to argue the point.

There are these same two groups of things in religion. There are matters of opinion and matters of truth. Whether we believe the truth or not we will still be bound by it just as a person living on Earth is bound by gravity. Among many other things the Bible teaches: that there is one God and Jesus is his son, that there is a heaven for the righteous and a hell for the wicked, that Jesus built only one church; and that there is truth. If we can all agree in earthly matters like gravity, why can’t we agree in much more important spiritual matters? Those of us in the church of Christ believe it is possible. We would like for you to visit with us and study with us to see if we can “all speak the same thing” as Paul asked the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 1:10.

QITB - Questions in the Bible - is a series of articles based on questions that were actually asked in the Bible. They are on a variety of topics for that very reason, so they will be grouped in the category 'questions in the bible' on the right side.


In our world today many religions teach that salvation and eternal life are the free gifts of God and that noone has to ‘do’ anything to receive them. One belief statement I read recently said this: “When man... becomes blameworthy, his only hope is a work of grace by God alone.  ...The ground of our salvation is the shed blood of Jesus Christ; the occasion of our salvation is our believing God in this regard. Faith and faith alone being the requirement for the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, we believe that the believer is eternally saved in him.” That sounds great to most of us. It tells us that we can go to heaven without doing anything and that once we believe that God will save us he will and we can’t lose it. It sounds ‘too good to be true’. Well, when something sounds too good to be true it usually is.

In Matthew 19:16 a man comes to Jesus and asks the question, “Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?”. This man must not have known the teaching above, so, Jesus is going to tell him about it, right? Wrong! Jesus, instead of telling the man that there was nothing he could do and that if he would just believe he would get eternal life, told him, “...but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” I guess Jesus did not know about the teaching quoted above either. Who do you suppose knows how to get to heaven better, Jesus, the Son of God? Or the man who thought up the teaching in the last paragraph?

In every area of life we see that in order to receive something we must do something. It is certainly true that we cannot get to heaven without the grace of God and it is equally true that we can’t make it without faith. Ephesians 2:8 tells us that salvation is the gift of God, but even a gift is of no use without action on the part of the recipient. Imagine if you will that I (or more likely someone rich) offered to anyone and everyone a Wal-mart gift card for $100. If that happened it would be a free gift, but it would do you absolutely no good until you made use of it. 

Let’s look at all the things you would have to ‘do’ in order to receive this ‘free’ gift. First, you would have to know about the offer, just as we must know about God’s offer of salvation. Second, you would have to believe it was true, just as we must believe God’s offer is valid. Third, you would have to get the gift card, just knowing and believing would not cause the gift card to magically appear in your hand. Whatever the method prescribed for receiving the gift would have to be followed whether it was: send your name and address, call this number, or come here to pick it up. The same holds true with salvation. Jesus said in Matthew 7:21, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that DOETH the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Fourth, you would have to keep the card. If you lost it or it was stolen from you it would not be the giver’s fault. Salvation can be lost or given away, fortunately, it can’t be stolen, but someone who was once saved can be lost. If that were not the case why would there be so many warnings in the Bible telling us to be faithful, hold fast, be steadfast, etc.? Finally, you would have to go to Wal-mart and use the card. You couldn’t use it at Fred’s, Piggly Wiggly, or the local gas stations. So, you see that even a ‘free’ gift requires work or obedience on the part of the recipient.

Salvation is a wonderful gift, but in order to take advantage of it you must “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”(Philippians 2:12)

QITB - Questions in the Bible - is a series of articles based on questions that were actually asked in the Bible. They are on a variety of topics for that very reason, so they will be grouped in the category 'questions in the bible' on the right side.

As Jesus taught in the temple the chief priests and elders of the people asked Him this very question.(Mt. 21:23; Mk. 11:28; Lk. 20:2) Imagine what would happen today if in a classroom or a church building auditorium the leaders of the school or church found someone they had never hired or invited standing before the group teaching. If you ever tried it you would find out. They would immediately ask ‘What are you doing here?’, ‘What right do you have to be here?’, ‘Who said you could do this?’, and those questions would likely be followed by a forced exit or even a call to the police. Those would all be reasonable questions to ask under the circumstances, and we shouldn’t necessarily think evil of the priests and elders for asking the same things of Christ. Jesus even showed His willingness to answer those questions if they would have only demonstrated their honesty in seeking to know the truth. Unfortunately, they were not interested in the truth and would not answer Jesus’ question about John the Baptizer.

The question is a good one and one that we should answer. By what authority do we do the things we do? There are many possible answers, but only one that is pleasing to God. Whether it is in the area of religion or not we must have authority for the things we do, we can not just do whatever we please. But, how do we decide what standard of authority we are going to use? 

Some say, ‘if it feels good do it’. This allows a person to do anything as long as there are not any guilty feelings. The most obvious problem with this is that some people don’t ever feel guilty about anything. There are some people who enjoy causing others pain or lying, stealing, killing, etc. According to this way of thinking those actions wouldn’t be wrong if it feels good.

Others believe, ‘if it is legal it must be okay’. This belief has encouraged many to do things that result in the destruction of literally thousands of lives every year. People do things that God despises simply because the government has made it legal. Drunkenness, gambling, abortion, homosexuality, divorce, and many other things that God never wanted are not even thought of as something to be avoided, and all because people believe that if it was bad it would be against the law.

Many practice the ‘my pastor said’ form of authority. These think that religious leaders are somehow above sin and error and anything spoken by one of these so-called ‘Holy men’ can’t be wrong. As a preacher myself, I am appalled by this thinking. I know that I am human and make mistakes, say the wrong things, and sin. Think of all of the atrocities, like the 9/11 tragedy, that have been performed because of this very attitude.

There are probably other standards that people use to authorize their activities, but the Bible is the only standard that never changes and never fails or leads us wrong. There are certainly those who have twisted the scriptures and taught falsehoods (2 Peter 3:15-16), but the Bible, God’s Word is always true (John 17:17). Only God can authorize an activity and make it right. God at times has given others the authority to punish evil or to forbid certain activities, but no one can make something right if God says it is wrong. No one and nothing, not your feelings; not the government; and not a religious leader, can give you the authority to do something God has forbidden.

Jesus was doing what He did by the authority of God. What about you? What about your church? No church council can overrule God. If you are ready to get back to the Bible as your only source of authority, come visit with us. We believe the Bible and only the Bible should be our standard for authority. Why not visit a church of Christ near you.