used to profess Christ as Saviour but now she says that she does not even believe in Cod. I John 2:19 makes me wonder if this person was actually ever born again." A. We can be thankful that we do not have to judge the inner mo tives and feelings of others. Every one has to answer for himself be fore the Lord. It is one thing to profess salvation, but quite another situation to possess eternal life through personal faith in Christ. We have the assurance from verses such as John 3:16, 5:24, 10:28-30; Romans 10:9, 10; Ephesians 2:8, 9 that we do possess the promise of everlasting life. There are no later conditions given us to declare that at some time in the future we may lose this glorious and most bene ficial of all life's transactions. One cannot be born and then unborn, anymore than he can be saved and then unsaved. Once you are adopted into the family of God, through personal faith, you remain that way, a child of God possessing eternal life. Q. Lapeer, Mich. " I pray a lot and yet I never get any miraculous an swers like some of the people I hear about. Am I doing something wrong?" A. In prayer we need to use what intelligence God has given, acting upon the very best judgment which we have. Our responsibility is to trust the Lord. We do not always need to look for the miraculous. Actually, when you get right down to it, considering all the disease, drunken drivers, and criminals in the world, it is a miracle that God gives us another day to live for Him. Our business is to
commit our plans, purposes, and ourselves wholly to Him. Let Him do that which is well-pleasing in His sight. Remember, after prayer, your answer will come and it will be one which will ultimately be to the glory of the Father and the Son. Q. Newton, Kan. " I have always thought that if one was not a Chris- than it did not matter how much he sinned because he would go to hell anyway. Then I heard that there are possibly degrees of ever lasting punishment. Is that true?" A. The passage to which you refer quotes our Lord in Luke 12: 47, 48. Here He speaks of being beaten with many stripes and with few stripes. The illustration is used to show that the more one knows and sins against the light he has been given, the greater the punishment to be inflicted upon him. Indeed, in the judgment of unredeemed sinners in hell, there most certainly will be degrees of punishment. Q. San Diego, Calif. "Would you please explain Matthew 16:18 where the Lord tells Peter that the church is to be built upon him?" A. In the context, Peter has an swered Christ's question, "Whom do you say that I am?" He rightly declares, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." While Pet er's name means "little rock," it was not upon him that the Lord was going to build His church, but upon the object of Peter's confes sion. This is what we must under stand. Without question, Peter himself did not expect that the church would be built upon him. This is seen by reading his sermon
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