This page contains answers to various questions related to discipleship and Christian living. The answers are provided by my brother, Philip Brown, who originally wrote them for publication in God’s Revivalist. They are presented here with his permission.
◾ Does God Create Evil? (2003/6–8)
◾ Will the Jews Go to Heaven? (2003/10)
◾ The End of the World (2003/11)
◾ How Do I Avoid Being Deceived? (2003/12)
◾ Can a Christian Live Above Willful Sin? (2004/1–2)
◾ Is it Wrong to Break the Speed Limit? (2004/3)
◾ Which Bible Translation Is Best? Part 1 (2004/4)
◾ Which Bible Translation Is Best? Part 2 (2004/5)
◾ The Speed Limit Again (2004/6–8)
◾ Sanctification and the World (2004/9)
◾ Is Obesity Sin? (2004/10)
◾ Letting the Dead Bury the Dead (2004/11)
◾ Obesity and the Sins of the Fathers (2004/12)
◾ How to Study the Bible (2005/1–2)
◾ Responding to Offense (2005/3)
◾ Tithing – Part 1 (2005/4)
◾ Tithing – Part 2 (2005/5)
◾ Tithing – Part 3 (2005/6–8)
◾ What Is God’s Glory? (2005/9)
◾ Waste a Year in Bible College? (2005/10)
◾ Do We Have Free Will? (2005/12)
◾ Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life (2006/1–2)
◾ Amazing Grace (2006/3)
◾ No Call to the Ministry? (2006/4)
◾ Light Before the Sun? (2006/5)
◾ More on The Purpose Driven Life (2006/9)
◾ Holiness or Hell? (2006/10)
◾ Baptismal Regeneration? (2006/11)
◾ Pursuing Peace and Holiness (2006/12)
◾ Six Steps to Pursue Holiness (2007/1–2)
◾ The Blood, the Cross, and the Resurrection (2007/3)
◾ Is My Deceased Loved One With Jesus? (2007/4)
◾ Carnal Versus Righteous Anger (2007/6–8)
◾ Truth-telling and Criminal Investigations (2007/9)
◾ How Did Satan Fall? (2007/10)
◾ Degrees of Reward in Heaven (2007/12)
◾ Can Backsliders Ever Be Renewed? (2008/1–2)
◾ How Do You Resist the Devil? (2008/3)
◾ How Much Prayer Is Enough? Part 1 (2008/4)
◾ How Much Prayer Is Enough? Part 2 (2008/5)
◾ Is Hell Eternal? (2008/6–8)
◾ Whatsoever Ye Shall Bind on Earth (2008/9)
◾ What Is the Unpardonable Sin? (2008/11)
◾ Knowing God’s Will (2008/12)
◾ Our Spiritual Gifts and God’s Purposes (2009/1–2)
◾ Does God Harden People’s Hearts? (2009/4)
◾ Physical Healing in the Atonement? (2009/5)
◾ Walking in the Spirit (2009/9)
◾ Forgiveness of Past, Present and Future Sin? (2009/10)
◾ Suffering (2009/12)
◾ What Is Propitiatory Suffering? (2010/1–2)
◾ Does God Forget Our Sins? (2010/3)
◾ Have Faith in God (2010/4)
◾ Praying “in Jesus’ name” (2010/5)
◾ Importance of Learning Biblical Languages – Part 1 (2010/6–8)
◾ Importance of Learning Biblical Languages – Part 2 (2010/9)
◾ Broken Vows (2010/10)
◾ Enoch and Elijah & Heaviness of Heart (2010/11)
◾ Serving God in Secular Work (2010/12)
◾ The Objectivity of Faith (2011/6–8)
◾ Gender Distinct Clothing – Part 1 (2011/9)
◾ Gender Distinct Clothing – Part 2 (2011/10)
◾ Leisure Sports and Activities (2011/12)
◾ Both “Son of God” and “Everlasting Father” (2012/1)
◾ Does God Always Bring Good from Bad? (2012/3)
◾ Which Biblical Promises Can We Claim? Part 1 (2012/4)
◾ Which Biblical Promises Can We Claim? Part 2 (2012/5)
◾ Quoting the Bible’s Promises (2012/6–8)
◾ What Does a Christian Disciple Look Like? (2012/9)
◾ Not In Words But In Power (2012/10)
◾ Ordained to Eternal Life (2013/1–2)
◾ Israel in Bible Prophecy, the Great Apostasy, and Charitable Bribery (2013/3)
◾ The Name of Jesus (2013/4)
◾ Church Discipline and Family Relations (2013/5)
◾ What Is Sex? (2013/9)
◾ Should I Attend a Gay Marriage? (2013/10)
◾ How Do We Know What God Really Said? (2013/11)
◾ Getting the Most Out of Bible Study – Part 1 (2013/12)
◾ Getting the Most Out of Bible Study – Part 2 (2014/1–2)
◾ Is Consistent Victory Over Sin Possible? (2014/3)
◾ Origins Debate (2014/5)
◾ Can We Live Free from Sin? (2014/6–8)
◾ To Train Up a Child (2014/9)
◾ Divine Sovereignty (2014/10)
◾ What Is Arminianism? (2014/11)
◾ Inerrancy and Synoptic Harmonization (2014/12)
◾ What Is Truth? Part 1 (2015/3)
◾ What Is Truth? Part 2 (2015/4)
◾ How Important Is Baptism? (2015/9)
◾ The Various Greek Texts (2015/10)
◾ Parent’s Sin and Adoption (2015/11)
◾ Fulfilling the Law (2015/12)
◾ Speaking in Tongues (2016/3)
◾ Jesus and Allah (2016/4)
◾ Divine Guidance (2016/5)
◾ What About ‘Discrepancies’ in Scripture? (2016/6–8)
◾ What About Tattoos? (2016/10)
◾ Exposing Children to Evil (2016/11)
◾ Holy Spirit Illumination – Part 1 (2016/12)
◾ Holy Spirit Illumination – Part 2 (2017/3)
◾ Union With Christ (2017/5)
◾ One Strike and You’re Out? (2017/6–8)
◾ Relationship Between Faith and Obedience (2017/9)
◾ Reformation–Interpretive Anarchy and Chaos? (2017/10)
◾ Jesus and Transgender Identity (2017/11)
◾ Sexual Prohibitions (2017/12)
◾ Biblical Metaphors for Spiritual Growth (2018/1–2)
◾ Time to Change the Lord’s Prayer? (2018/3)
◾ Variances in Greek New Testament Manuscripts (2018/4)
◾ Is “Easter” Really Pagan? (2018/5)
◾ Bible Included in “Don’t Have To Read” List (2018/6–8)
◾ Judging Others (2018/9)
◾ What Constitutes a “Just” War? (2018/11)
◾ God and Slavery in the Old Testament (2018/12)
◾ The Fruit of the Spirit (2019/1–2)
◾ Happiness and Joy—What’s the Difference? (2019/3)
◾ Idolatry as It Applies to Us (2019/6–8)
◾ Does God Delight in Some of His People More Than Others? (2019/9)
◾ Prohibition Against Tattoos and Beard Trimming (2019/10)
◾ To Bear or Not to Bear...and How Many Is “A Few”? (2019/11)
◾ God Is Neither Male Nor Female (2019/12)
◾ Systemic Racism (2020/1–2)
◾ Being Perfect as God Is Perfect (2020/4)
◾ Pain and Suffering (2020/5)
◾ Is It Impossible to Live Above Sin? (2020/9)
◾ Wisdom and the Prayer of Faith (2020/10)
◾ Coronavirus and Providential Permission (2020/11)
◾ The Anointing and its Counterfeits (2021/1–2)
◾ Dismissing the “Old” Testament – Part 1 (2020/12)
◾ Dismissing the “Old” Testament – Part 2 (2021/3)
◾ Dismissing the “Old” Testament – Part 3 (2021/4)
◾ Dismissing the “Old” Testament – Part 4 (2021/6–8)
◾ When a Fellow Believer Offends Us (2021/10)
◾ Proverbs: Promises or General Principles? (2021/11)
◾ “Trespasses” or “Debts” in the Lord’s Prayer? (2021/12)
◾ Reading Proverbs Theologically – Part 1 (2022/1–2)
◾ Reading Proverbs Theologically – Part 2 (2022/3)
◾ Hebrew Versus Greek Old Testament (2022/4)
◾ Call No Man Your Father (2022/5)
◾ A Strain Between Two Teachings of Jesus (2022/6–8)
◾ Will the Jews Go to Heaven? (2003/10)
◾ The End of the World (2003/11)
◾ How Do I Avoid Being Deceived? (2003/12)
◾ Can a Christian Live Above Willful Sin? (2004/1–2)
◾ Is it Wrong to Break the Speed Limit? (2004/3)
◾ Which Bible Translation Is Best? Part 1 (2004/4)
◾ Which Bible Translation Is Best? Part 2 (2004/5)
◾ The Speed Limit Again (2004/6–8)
◾ Sanctification and the World (2004/9)
◾ Is Obesity Sin? (2004/10)
◾ Letting the Dead Bury the Dead (2004/11)
◾ Obesity and the Sins of the Fathers (2004/12)
◾ How to Study the Bible (2005/1–2)
◾ Responding to Offense (2005/3)
◾ Tithing – Part 1 (2005/4)
◾ Tithing – Part 2 (2005/5)
◾ Tithing – Part 3 (2005/6–8)
◾ What Is God’s Glory? (2005/9)
◾ Waste a Year in Bible College? (2005/10)
◾ Do We Have Free Will? (2005/12)
◾ Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life (2006/1–2)
◾ Amazing Grace (2006/3)
◾ No Call to the Ministry? (2006/4)
◾ Light Before the Sun? (2006/5)
◾ More on The Purpose Driven Life (2006/9)
◾ Holiness or Hell? (2006/10)
◾ Baptismal Regeneration? (2006/11)
◾ Pursuing Peace and Holiness (2006/12)
◾ Six Steps to Pursue Holiness (2007/1–2)
◾ The Blood, the Cross, and the Resurrection (2007/3)
◾ Is My Deceased Loved One With Jesus? (2007/4)
◾ Carnal Versus Righteous Anger (2007/6–8)
◾ Truth-telling and Criminal Investigations (2007/9)
◾ How Did Satan Fall? (2007/10)
◾ Degrees of Reward in Heaven (2007/12)
◾ Can Backsliders Ever Be Renewed? (2008/1–2)
◾ How Do You Resist the Devil? (2008/3)
◾ How Much Prayer Is Enough? Part 1 (2008/4)
◾ How Much Prayer Is Enough? Part 2 (2008/5)
◾ Is Hell Eternal? (2008/6–8)
◾ Whatsoever Ye Shall Bind on Earth (2008/9)
◾ What Is the Unpardonable Sin? (2008/11)
◾ Knowing God’s Will (2008/12)
◾ Our Spiritual Gifts and God’s Purposes (2009/1–2)
◾ Does God Harden People’s Hearts? (2009/4)
◾ Physical Healing in the Atonement? (2009/5)
◾ Walking in the Spirit (2009/9)
◾ Forgiveness of Past, Present and Future Sin? (2009/10)
◾ Suffering (2009/12)
◾ What Is Propitiatory Suffering? (2010/1–2)
◾ Does God Forget Our Sins? (2010/3)
◾ Have Faith in God (2010/4)
◾ Praying “in Jesus’ name” (2010/5)
◾ Importance of Learning Biblical Languages – Part 1 (2010/6–8)
◾ Importance of Learning Biblical Languages – Part 2 (2010/9)
◾ Broken Vows (2010/10)
◾ Enoch and Elijah & Heaviness of Heart (2010/11)
◾ Serving God in Secular Work (2010/12)
◾ The Objectivity of Faith (2011/6–8)
◾ Gender Distinct Clothing – Part 1 (2011/9)
◾ Gender Distinct Clothing – Part 2 (2011/10)
◾ Leisure Sports and Activities (2011/12)
◾ Both “Son of God” and “Everlasting Father” (2012/1)
◾ Does God Always Bring Good from Bad? (2012/3)
◾ Which Biblical Promises Can We Claim? Part 1 (2012/4)
◾ Which Biblical Promises Can We Claim? Part 2 (2012/5)
◾ Quoting the Bible’s Promises (2012/6–8)
◾ What Does a Christian Disciple Look Like? (2012/9)
◾ Not In Words But In Power (2012/10)
◾ Ordained to Eternal Life (2013/1–2)
◾ Israel in Bible Prophecy, the Great Apostasy, and Charitable Bribery (2013/3)
◾ The Name of Jesus (2013/4)
◾ Church Discipline and Family Relations (2013/5)
◾ What Is Sex? (2013/9)
◾ Should I Attend a Gay Marriage? (2013/10)
◾ How Do We Know What God Really Said? (2013/11)
◾ Getting the Most Out of Bible Study – Part 1 (2013/12)
◾ Getting the Most Out of Bible Study – Part 2 (2014/1–2)
◾ Is Consistent Victory Over Sin Possible? (2014/3)
◾ Origins Debate (2014/5)
◾ Can We Live Free from Sin? (2014/6–8)
◾ To Train Up a Child (2014/9)
◾ Divine Sovereignty (2014/10)
◾ What Is Arminianism? (2014/11)
◾ Inerrancy and Synoptic Harmonization (2014/12)
◾ What Is Truth? Part 1 (2015/3)
◾ What Is Truth? Part 2 (2015/4)
◾ How Important Is Baptism? (2015/9)
◾ The Various Greek Texts (2015/10)
◾ Parent’s Sin and Adoption (2015/11)
◾ Fulfilling the Law (2015/12)
◾ Speaking in Tongues (2016/3)
◾ Jesus and Allah (2016/4)
◾ Divine Guidance (2016/5)
◾ What About ‘Discrepancies’ in Scripture? (2016/6–8)
◾ What About Tattoos? (2016/10)
◾ Exposing Children to Evil (2016/11)
◾ Holy Spirit Illumination – Part 1 (2016/12)
◾ Holy Spirit Illumination – Part 2 (2017/3)
◾ Union With Christ (2017/5)
◾ One Strike and You’re Out? (2017/6–8)
◾ Relationship Between Faith and Obedience (2017/9)
◾ Reformation–Interpretive Anarchy and Chaos? (2017/10)
◾ Jesus and Transgender Identity (2017/11)
◾ Sexual Prohibitions (2017/12)
◾ Biblical Metaphors for Spiritual Growth (2018/1–2)
◾ Time to Change the Lord’s Prayer? (2018/3)
◾ Variances in Greek New Testament Manuscripts (2018/4)
◾ Is “Easter” Really Pagan? (2018/5)
◾ Bible Included in “Don’t Have To Read” List (2018/6–8)
◾ Judging Others (2018/9)
◾ What Constitutes a “Just” War? (2018/11)
◾ God and Slavery in the Old Testament (2018/12)
◾ The Fruit of the Spirit (2019/1–2)
◾ Happiness and Joy—What’s the Difference? (2019/3)
◾ Idolatry as It Applies to Us (2019/6–8)
◾ Does God Delight in Some of His People More Than Others? (2019/9)
◾ Prohibition Against Tattoos and Beard Trimming (2019/10)
◾ To Bear or Not to Bear...and How Many Is “A Few”? (2019/11)
◾ God Is Neither Male Nor Female (2019/12)
◾ Systemic Racism (2020/1–2)
◾ Being Perfect as God Is Perfect (2020/4)
◾ Pain and Suffering (2020/5)
◾ Is It Impossible to Live Above Sin? (2020/9)
◾ Wisdom and the Prayer of Faith (2020/10)
◾ Coronavirus and Providential Permission (2020/11)
◾ The Anointing and its Counterfeits (2021/1–2)
◾ Dismissing the “Old” Testament – Part 1 (2020/12)
◾ Dismissing the “Old” Testament – Part 2 (2021/3)
◾ Dismissing the “Old” Testament – Part 3 (2021/4)
◾ Dismissing the “Old” Testament – Part 4 (2021/6–8)
◾ When a Fellow Believer Offends Us (2021/10)
◾ Proverbs: Promises or General Principles? (2021/11)
◾ “Trespasses” or “Debts” in the Lord’s Prayer? (2021/12)
◾ Reading Proverbs Theologically – Part 1 (2022/1–2)
◾ Reading Proverbs Theologically – Part 2 (2022/3)
◾ Hebrew Versus Greek Old Testament (2022/4)
◾ Call No Man Your Father (2022/5)
◾ A Strain Between Two Teachings of Jesus (2022/6–8)