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Q & A Time at Victory...
- David Brown
- Jul 23, 2011
- Category: Questions
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Q & A Time at Victory...
We had a number of Questions which we didn't have time to answer in our Q&A session last Wednesday night. Here are some of those questions with my answers (answered as briefly as possible...at least for me...for the sake of space and time.)
Q1. What is your opinion about the United States during the “end times”? Will we be involved and to what degree?
A1. We will be involved...just like every other nation in the world. The U.S. seems to be conspicuous by its absence in the prophetic scriptures. Some see the U.S. sybolized by the eagle of Revelation 12:14. Maybe so, maybe not. I don't believe the U.S. has any role that is more important than other free nations such as Britain or Canada though God has certainly used the U.S. to bring freedom to the world politically and the gospel to the world spiritually. Israel on the other hand has a very unique role. What happens to the U.S. during these end times depends largely on how we treat Israel. It's important to note that God is using nations but dealing with individuals. Being an American is not going to give anyone an advantage at the judment of God.
Q2. If someone is needing healing, should they go to a church and have hands laid upon them. Or is praying doing the same thing?
A2. There are several different methods for imparting divine healing power that are mentioned in scripture. There is the laying on of hands, the anointing of oil, the prayer of faith (prayed by the receiver or another person ministering to them), the prayer of agreement (prayed by two or more) etc. There is no one method that is better than another. I would not say a person must come to a church for healing prayer. A believer can pray for them in their home, workplace or wherever. If they understand faith and how to receive from God, they can certainly pray for themselves. I've been healed many times praying for myself. What is important is that the receiver exercise their faith in Jesus Christ as their healer.
Q3. What is the difference in all the Bibles? (NLT, KJV, etc.) Shouldn't there be just one?
A3. There really is just one Bible. It is the original writings of the Prophets and Apostles as they wrote in Hebrew, Chaldean and Greek (the ancient languages of the original scriptures) as they were inspired and moved by the Holy Spirit. We don't have the originals anymore but copies of copies of copies, the great majority of which are amazingly in agreement with very slight and negligible differences. The different translations are simply the multiple efforts of man to translate the Scriptures in understandable language. It should also be noted that the original languages of the Bible are ancient, complex and that we are still learning about them. Language is a fluid thing. For this reason, the various ancient manuscripts and even various modern translations may not be muddying the waters of truth as much as they are confirming and clarifying them. That is the hope of the translators at least. You will find amazing agreement between different versions. That being said, I do believe there are better Greek manuscripts than others. I believe that the Eastern Greek texts of the New Testament found around the Antioch region are better and more accurate than the Western texts from the region of Alexandria, Egypt from which almost all the modern versions are extracted. But this is a debate for Scholars and Theologians.
Q4. Do you believe “once saved always saved”?
A4. I do not. I used to believe in “once saved always saved” or as it is called, “unconditional security of the believer” having grown up in and discipled in a denomination that believed that way. I believed it with all my heart and have debated this subject from that perspective many times.
But, after studying a broader scope of the scriptures in my adult years and experiencing illumination from the Holy Spirit I began to see the obvious warnings made to believers in the New Testament. Upon reexamining the stock "security of the believer" scriptures I discovered that they were all conditional. So I believe in security...just not in "unconditional" security of the believer. We are required to repent of our sins and believe in Jesus to be saved. So, salvation itself has conditions attached to it. This is not works. It's simply positioning ourselves to receive God's gift of salvation and forgiveness. I believe we simply must continue in repentance and faith to remain saved. I don't believe you can lose your salvation like you lose your keys...."oops, where did those keys go?". But we can choose to walk away from Jesus and our relationship with him either through turning back to sin wilfully....(Read Hebrews 10:26-31) or through abandoning our faith. (See Colossians 1:20-23) While it is certainly true that “no man can pluck you out of the Father's hand...there is no statement of scripture that says you cannot choose to step out of His hand if you so choose. God will not “make” anyone be saved. The doctrine of “once saved always saved” is very dangerous in my view, inspiring loose living excusing wilful sin. It is one of the errors based in the false religious system of Calvinism...one of the most dangerous false and demonic doctrines ever seeded into the Church.
Q5. Oswald Chambers spoke of our being “broken bread and poured out wine”. I cannot find any reference in the Bible that quotes this. What does this mean to you as a Christian?
A5. To me, Chambers was referring to our role in service to God as God's children. We are the body of Christ. (See 1 Corinthians 10:16-17) We are to live lives of sacrifice and service to God...in other words, our lives are to be broken and given away and our life poured out to others...for Him who died for us. It's about service I believe.
Q6. I've been saved and baptized but I don't think I'm saved because I've prayed for my sins to go away and for the pain in my body to go away but it hasn't. It's gotten worse. What did I do wrong?
A6. You haven't “done” anything wrong as much as you've perhaps “thought” wrong. First of all you can't base the answer of one prayer on the manifestation of an answer to another prayer. Secondly, God will give you any spiritual blessing that you can believe him for. Some can believe him for forgiveness. While others may be able to believe for healing. They are separate and distinct however. Its perfectly possible to be saved...and not healed. A person could have great faith for forgiveness and very little or no faith for healing. It doesn't sound like your faith is firmly based on the scriptures though. You need a clear understanding of what the bible says about your salvation...then solid faith and confidence can come into your heart! (See Romans 10:17) You definitely need to feed your faith and settle this matter in your heart and mind. Then, you'll find that other prayer answers, including healing, are more easily attainable. Here's a video teaching that will help. http://bit.ly/qlnyzS Or, here is the teaching outline. http://bit.ly/qC2Lxw
Thanks everyone. I hope this answers some questions for you and I hope you don't miss our next Q&A service sometime soon. Blessings!
- David Brown
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