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Ron Mills' Story - At the age of 22 I started to consider suicide as an answer to feelings of hopelessness. By the time I was 23 I would get brief periods of wondering “is this all there is to life?" I remember going to night clubs after drug use and drinking and just standing amongst hundreds of people and feeling very alone and tired of life. There had to be more to this Life (more...)

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Karen Hoy

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George Menard

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101 Ways to Teach a Memory Verse

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 George Müller Biography - George Müller was one of the early brethren in the United Kingdom who is known for his work of faith among orphan children by running his organization by faith to provide for their needs.

"May it not be the will of God that I should establish schools for these children, asking Him to give me the means?"

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PETER’S CONVERSION AND CALL

When was Peter saved? Was it when Andrew brought him to the Lord Jesus, or was it when the Lord called him on the shores of the sea of Galilee to become a fisher of men?

The mission of John the Baptist was, amongst other things, to “make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:15)," TARGET="_blank">Luke 1:15), and, no doubt, Peter, Andrew and the rest of the apostles were all disciples of John, having been baptized by him with the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, waiting for the One that was to come. Accordingly, when these prepared ones came in contact with the Lord, they were ready to receive Him as Messiah. In John i, when Andrew brought Peter to the Lord, He did not call him to repentance or faith, for he did already in a manner believe on Him, but gave Him his new name, anticipating the moment when He would build him as a living stone into His Church. This was only the prelude to the scene on the sea of Galilee.

Thus Peter was called by John to repentance and faith in the one coming after him; then by the Lord to a place in His Church, and later to His service. We apply the word “saved” to everyone who has received Christ as personal Saviour, though the word carries with it more than forgiveness, namely, deliverance to and from. Peter could not receive Christ in above sense till the Lord was revealed to Israel, but no doubt all the true disciples of John, though they did not form part of the Church till Pentecost, were saved persons; they were of the people of God, His own, in a very real sense. In this sense Peter was a saved person before he was introduced to the Lord by Andrew, for he had been already introduced to Him by John the Baptist and had doubtless believed on Him as the One “who should come after him” (Acts 19:4)," TARGET="_blank">Acts 19:4), as indeed did the Old Testament saints in a minor degree. The Lord knew him by name and was now calling him out of the Jewish fold, to belong to His flock.

W.H.

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Please explain the New Testament teaching of Leviticus 21:21-22" TARGET="_blank">Leviticus 21:21-22

The physical defects, enumerated in Leviticus 21" TARGET="_blank">Leviticus 21 ,as preventing the Sons of Aaron from exercising their public priestly functions, would correspond to-day rather to moral defects.

Clearly there are physical defects, which, while not hindering a brother breaking bread, would disqualify him from leading the assembly in worship to the Father, e.g., dumbness, excessive stammering, defective organs of speech. I remember a good brother thus afflicted, to whose presence none thought of objecting, but to whose audible exercises, which were frequent, some did take exception. Probably he would have been more in the love of the Spirit, had he but rarely taken audible part in the worship. But the physical defects, enumerated in Leviticus 21" TARGET="_blank">Leviticus 21 ,as preventing the Sons of Aaron from exercising their public priestly functions, would correspond to-day rather to moral defects, which though not bringing the person in question under discipline, would render him unfit to lead the assembly in its priestly worship.

How could a brother for instance, who was known to lose his temper in public, or be a quarrelsome person, or had a bad financial record, be indicated as a leader of the saints? How could a bankrupt, who had not paid his creditors, or a man who owed money to the saints or the world, pretend “to offer the bread of God” in the public assembly? The lack of conscience evidenced by attempting to do so, would in itself be but poor proof of the reality of his Christian profession, though he might still be allowed to break the bread, pending possible developments. It might be hoped that his own sense of propriety would keep him silent, but if not, the elder brethren would doubtless feel their responsibility to act.

W.H.

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WTB - Want to Buy - Christian Website or your website based on the Bible, Sunday school, prayer, Bible study or related topic.

If you have a website that has been useful for sharing the Bible with the Internet audience but now find it difficult to maintain, please contact us at using the Contact link on the left.

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2) Value.  A website is valuable not for it's design, but for it's traffic. We are interested in buying a site that has some value in its assets such: established time online (more than one year), has some traffic (100 or more visits per day), some quality inbound links from other internet sites (such as dmoz or yahoo directory),  some subscribers in a mailing list, and some search keywords that are in the first 10 results of Google, Yahoo or Bing (MSN).

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GospelHall.org is a Christian website whose mission is to share the message of the Bible as God's Word.  Any websites that we aquire are operated on this understanding.

Shad Sluiter

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It is believed by some that Eternal Punishment is only for a certain period.

Is the doctrine of Eternal Punishment a tradition and not fundamental?

How should this be answered, and how should those in our assemblies who hold these views be treated?

The doctrine of eternal punishment is fundamental to the understanding of salvation. The test of a doctrine is not what the world thinks of it, or even the professing church, but what the Word of God declares. Judged by that test, I have not the slightest doubt that a condition of never-ending punishment awaits those who reject the grace of God in whatever form presented, and die in their sins and self-righteousness; and this has been the general belief of the church down the ages. That a committee of determined criminals or weak sentimentalists should decree the impossibility or injustice of life-sentences might be comprehensible, but would not affect the course of the law in any degree. Nor will the divine administration be affected in the slightest way by man’s opinions of His decrees.

When the opponents of never-ending punishment are asked, “What then will become of the wicked?” they cannot agree among themselves: one party say all will eventually be saved—they are the Universalists; another that all who refuse the grace of God will eventually cease to be—they are the teachers of what is known as “Conditional Immortality.” I believe both these theories are in conflict with the Scriptural teaching throughout, e.g., “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life (i.e. life in harmony with God, more than mere existence); and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life (which refutes universalism); but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36)." TARGET="_blank">John 3:36).

The wrath of God cannot abide on a nonentity, which refutes annihilationism. Space will not allow here any lengthy consideration of this tremendous theme. One or two points may, however, be raised. If we believe in the never-ending bliss of the redeemed, we must believe in the never-ending punishment of the wicked. The Lord’s own words make this plain, for He uses the same word in the same context of each: “These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life everlasting” (Matthew 25:46)." TARGET="_blank">Matthew 25:46). Some again say that the devil and his angels will suffer eternally, but not human beings; but in this same chapter our Lord classes them together: “Depart ye cursed (He will say to wicked men) into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (v. 41). That fearful punishment, here so plainly revealed by Him who was the embodiment of holy love, was not prepared for men, but for the devil and his angels, but those who deliberately choose to follow him will find themselves with him for ever. A great effort has been made to show that the word translated here “everlasting” or “eternal” only means “age-lasting.” That may be perfectly true by derivation, as is true indeed of our word “everlasting,” but what matters is the usage of the word. It is used of “God” (Romans 16:26);" TARGET="_blank">Romans 16:26); His “honour and power” (1 Timothy 6:16);" TARGET="_blank">1 Timothy 6:16); “covenant” (Hebrews 13:20);" TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 13:20); “kingdom” (2 Peter 1:11);" TARGET="_blank">2 Peter 1:11); “gospel” (Revelation 14:6);" TARGET="_blank">Revelation 14:6); the “weight of glory” of the redeemed (2 Corinthians 4:17);" TARGET="_blank">2 Corinthians 4:17); the unseen world (2 Corinthians 4:18);" TARGET="_blank">2 Corinthians 4:18); the glorified body (2 Corinthians 5:1);" TARGET="_blank">2 Corinthians 5:1); “glory” (2 Timothy 2:10);" TARGET="_blank">2 Timothy 2:10); “salvation” (Hebrews 5:9);" TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 5:9); “Spirit” (Hebrews 9:14)," TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 9:14), etc., etc., on the one hand, and on the other, of future punishment, as above (Matthew 25:46);" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 25:46); “fire” (Matthew 18:8);" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 18:8); “damnation” (Mark 3:29);" TARGET="_blank">Mark 3:29); “destruction from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 1:9)." TARGET="_blank">2 Thessalonians 1:9).

‘What honest believer, subject to the Word, but must admit that the never-endingness of God, His Spirit, salvation, redemption, and the consolation and the inheritance of the redeemed, stands or falls, with the never-endingness of the future punishment of the finally impenitent! Is it not strange that men, instead of repenting of their sins and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, should rather spend their time in trying to disprove what the Saviour so clearly taught (none more clearly than He)—the fearful future of those who refuse Him, whom God has provided in His infinite love as a Saviour from “the wrath to come!” As for the second part of the question, we must “make a difference” between those who may be for the moment perplexed over a doctrine and those who doubt it as part of their fixed belief. It is noticeable that among “the principles of the doctrine of Christ,” in Hebrews 6:1-2," TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 6:1-2, which are clearly considered as fundamental (“not laying again the foundation,” etc.), the doctrine of “eternal judgment” closes the list.

This, therefore, is a fundamental question, and those who deny it have so far departed from the faith, and deny the clear and unmistakable words of Christ. How can such then claim a place among the people of God? Their denial of God’s truth raises the solemn question whether they have ever truly known His grace. May God in His infinite mercy preserve the feet, both of writer and readers, from straying from His Word, on this or any other truth!

W.H.

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