ous home situations real wisdom needs to be given concerning what the Lord would have us do. As far as your responsibility towards him is concerned, look at I Peter 3:1-6. You must be very, very circumspect. He will be “reading” your every action. Face the problem positively. You suggest some wholesome place to go if he likes to get out, such as a sports event. Don’t always be nag ging or negative. Show him there are enjoyable things in which you can join him. Q. Albany, Ore---- “Where in the Bible does it say that one is going to bum in brimstone and pitch i f they don’t read the Bible?" A. I t doesn’t say it anywhere. Read ing the Bible is not a means where by one can be saved. Acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ is explained to us in the Scriptures and we should give diligence to reading them. How ever, this will not merit salvation for salvation is not a reward but rather God’s free gift, when we re ceive the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour. Q. Longview, Wash. — “I f Satan is not omnipresent, how can he be in so many places at the same time? I f he’s not omniscient, how does he know our thoughts?” A. It may seem sometime as though this is the case, However, Satan is only a created being and as such has not the characteristics of deity. Look at Matthew 12:25 and 26 and you will see how Christ k n e w the thoughts of the people. Satan appears to be omnipresent because he has so many demons helping him out in his evil work. He does not know our thoughts nor is he everywhere at the same time. > Q, Arroyo Grande, Calif. — "How could the thief on the cross be with the Lord that day in paradise when
the Lord had not yet ascended to His Father?” (Luke 28:US). A. Keep in mind tha t Paradise was not in heaven until the ascension. Paradise was the abode of the right eous dead before the Lord’s death and resurrection. I t was a part of the larger area known in Scripture as Hades which was divided into two compartments: the abode of t h e righteous dead and the abode of the unrighteous dead. Ephesians 4:8 shows that Christ emptied paradise, sometimes known as Abraham’s bosom, and took those who were there, including the believing thief, to heaven. So that today, those who die in Christ are taken to glory for “absent from the body is to be pres ent with the Lord.” Paradise is now the same as “the third Heaven” (II Cor. 12:1-4). Q. Oakland, Calif----- “Is it a hell-send ing sin for a Christian not to pay tithe?” A. No, it is not. The only thing that will send a person to hell is his re jection of the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour. We believe Christians should give proportion ately according to their income, which would be in grace, not by law; in love, not by commandment. Q. Santa Cruz, Calif. — “When the Lord comes to take His Bride, will all the babies or young children be taken, even i f the parents are not?” A. Salvation does not depend upon parents. The parent, of course, has a tremendous responsibility to rear his child in the nurture and admoni tion of the Lord. The consensus of Scripture testimony is in the affirma tive to this question. If a baby, or a child, cannot yet understand about the love of God, or the nature of sin, then he cannot make an intelli gent decision. When the Bride is tak en (I Thess. 4:13-18; I Cor. 15:50- 20
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