Monthly Archives: July 2011

Are Christians Forbidden To Marry Non-Christians?

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Are Christians Forbidden To Marry Non-Christians? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 2:05pm QUESTION: Does 2 Corinthians 6:14 mean that Christians are not allowed to marry non-Christians? ANSWER: The answer to this question must begin with a look at the nature of marriage. One of the crucial aspects of marriage as described in the Bible is that it is a covenantal relationship. We conclude this from the way the Bible often compares the husband-wife relationship with the relationship between God and his people. In fact, the relation of God to his people is often described in … Continue reading →

What Happens to Us When We Die?

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What Happens to Us When We Die? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 12:25pm QUESTION: What happens to us when we die? Do believers go directly to heaven at the moment of death? What is the relation between our death, on the one hand; and Christ’s second coming, the resurrection, and the final judgment, on the other hand? ANSWER: The answers to these questions require a lot more space than is available here. I have discussed them fully in my College Press books, The Faith Once for All (see the final chapters) and Bible Prophecy and … Continue reading →

Is Sound Doctrine a Moral Obligation? (Part Two)

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Is Sound Doctrine a Moral Obligation? (Part Two) by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 2:22pm I wrote an earlier note called “Does It Matter What Church We Attend?” What I said in that note stirred up quite an active discussion, with some responders consigning me to some version of theological (if not literal) Tartarus. That’s OK; I don’t expect everyone to agree with my (always) completely rational and Biblical answers! I do like to avoid being misunderstood or misinterpreted, however. Thus I have chosen to follow up on that note with a two-part essay that addresses … Continue reading →

Is Sound Doctrine a Moral Obligation? (Part One)

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Is Sound Doctrine a Moral Obligation? (Part One) by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 2:19pm Do we have a moral obligation to believe everything the Bible teaches? I will approach this question from two directions. First, I will set forth (here) what the New Testament itself says about this; then (in a later note) I will answer the question based on the nature of the Bible. What does the New Testament say about our responsibility toward its teaching? Here I will survey how it uses the two basic Greek words that are usually translated as “teaching” … Continue reading →

Does It Matter What Church We Attend?

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Does It Matter What Church We Attend? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Tuesday, July 26, 2011 at 12:43pm QUESTION: Is it a sin to attend a church that is not a Restoration Movement church? E.g., Baptist, Presbyterian, inter-denominational? ANSWER: A couple of years ago (September 2009) I wrote a note explaining the difference between the visible church and the invisible church (just published in the August 2011 Restoration Herald). The invisible church is the universal body of Christ, the total number of those who have obeyed the gospel and are thus in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. All who … Continue reading →

Did the Early Christian Fathers Teach Calvinism?

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Did the Early Christian Fathers Teach Calvinism? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Monday, July 25, 2011 at 1:57pm QUESTION: Some say that the doctrines of Calvinism did not begin with John Calvin, nor even with Augustine (died A.D. 430). Rather, they claim that the TULIP doctrines are present throughout the writings of the church fathers from the beginning. One Calvinist who says this is Michael Horton, in an appendix to his book, Putting Amazing Back into Grace (Baker, 2002). What do you say about this? ANSWER: I have read a large portion (not all) of the pre-Nicene, Nicene, and post-Nicene … Continue reading →

Every Aspect of Human Nature Is Created

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Every Aspect of Human Nature Is Created by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 12:08pm After preparing my note on “Eternal Hell, Immortal Soul: How Are They Related?” I was motivated to prepare the following note on the fact that human beings are created beings in every aspect of their nature. This material is taken from my book, The Faith Once for All, chapter 6, “The Nature of Man.”` It is very important to understand that a human being is wholly a creature; both body and spirit have been created by God. The doctrine of ex nihilo … Continue reading →

Eternal Hell and “Immortal” Soul: How Are They Related?

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Eternal Hell and “Immortal” Soul: How Are They Related? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 10:23am QUESTION: Do you know Edward Fudge’s book, The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment, now in its third edition (Cascade Books, 2011, 420 pp.; first ed., 1982)? What do you think of it? ANSWER: Yes, but I confess that I read this book only in its first edition (1982). Like another Restoration Movement author, Russell Boatman, in his book Beyond Death: What the Bible Says about the Hereafter (author, 1980), Fudge denies … Continue reading →

Once Saved, Always Saved — AGAIN! and AGAIN! and AGAIN!

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Once Saved, Always Saved — AGAIN! and AGAIN! and AGAIN! by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at 9:47am The fifth point of the “five points of Calvinism”— the P in TULIP— is the Perseverance (or Preservation) of the saints, more commonly known as “once saved, always saved” (“OSAS”). This doctrine originated with Augustine (died A.D. 430) and is currently believed by millions of both Calvinists and non-Calvinists. On the other hand, those who reject OSAS as a false doctrine call attention to many Biblical texts that seem to teach or imply that believers can lose their faith … Continue reading →