Tag Archives: Original sin

Did Jesus’ Power To Work Miracles Come from the Holy Spirit?

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Did Jesus’ Power To Work Miracles Come from the Holy Spirit? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 10:13am QUESTION: I have a question about Jesus’ ability to perform miraculous deeds. Do you think that He had this ability of His own accord, or did He need the Spirit’s empowerment to be able to do such things while on earth? Is this a “false choice” question? I know that Jesus surrendered some of His divine prerogatives (Phil. 2:5ff.), but He certainly didn’t cease being God. While on earth, though, did He need the Spirit’s empowerment to do … Continue reading →

OUR AUTHORITY: SCRIPTURE OR EXPERIENCE?

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OUR AUTHORITY: SCRIPTURE OR EXPERIENCE? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at 1:38pm QUESTION: How do we know God is in control? We say, during tough times, that “He is on the Throne.” But the question always haunts us: “If God is really in control, why is the world in such a mess? Why are all these bad things happening in my life?” How can we be sure He is really reigning over all things? ANSWER: How we answer this is the ultimate test of whether we really believe the Bible is our final authority or not, … Continue reading →

Books By Jack Cottrell

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BOOKS BY JACK COTTRELL by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 1:35pm Someone asked me recently to make a list of my available books. I thought some of you may be interested in the list, so I am publishing it here, mostly as written for another purpose. I, Jack Cottrell (Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary), have taught theology at Cincinnati Christian University for 43 years. During this time I have written 20 books, 16 of which are still in print. The following is a list of these available books. The first seven are available from College Press Publishing … Continue reading →

ELECTION, CALVINISM, AND THE BIBLE, PART TWO

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ELECTION, CALVINISM, AND THE BIBLE, PART TWO by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, January 20, 2011 at 4:02pm In part one of this essay, I said that the Biblical language of election is used in several different senses or applied in several different ways. In that part, I explained the first four such ways: (1) the election of Jesus as the incarnate God the Redeemer; (2) the election of individuals to service, e.g., the patriarchs and the apostles; (3) the election of groups (especially Israel) to service; and (4) the election of groups as categories of individuals to whom God … Continue reading →

CRANBERRY JUICE IN THE LORD’S SUPPER?

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CRANBERRY JUICE IN THE LORD’S SUPPER? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Friday, November 19, 2010 at 12:53pm QUESTION: Is it “necessary,” or is it just “tradition,” to use grape juice (or wine) for communion? Is “fruit of the vine” (Matt. 26:29) limited to the grape vine, or is any juice allowed? Someone told me they went to a church that used cranberry juice, because they got a deal on it at the store! What do you think? ANSWER: Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper [LS] during the yearly Passover feast (Matt. 26:17ff.), which God established for Israel on the night of … Continue reading →

More on Remarriage after a Non-Biblical Divorce

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More on Remarriage after a Non-Biblical Divorce by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Friday, October 15, 2010 at 2:10pm QUESTION: You have said that in a new marriage after a non-Biblical divorce, the new spouses initially commit the sin of adultery, but that this is not an on-going sin. The new marriage is a valid marriage, and the husband and wife are not “living in adultery,” even though Matt. 19:9 uses the present tense for “commits adultery.” Therefore this marriage should not be broken up so that this couple may attempt to return to their original spouses. But does not the … Continue reading →

When Was Satan Created?

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When Was Satan Created? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Friday, October 8, 2010 at 12:48pm QUESTION: When do you think Satan was created? Some say that since God created ALL things within the six days of creation described in Genesis 1, this means that all angelic beings must have been created within this time frame, probably on the sixth day. Is there any basis for this idea? ANSWER: The answer, of course, depends on who Satan, demons, and angelic beings in general are. As to his identity, the first point to emphasize is that Satan is indeed a created being, … Continue reading →

Can the Guilty Party Remarry after a Divorce?

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Can the Guilty Party Remarry after a Divorce? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Friday, October 8, 2010 at 11:02am QUESTION: In a Christian marriage which dissolves due to marital unfaithfulness, is the guilty party not allowed to remarry? And would this be the case even if the guilty party under the leadership of the elders tried everything possible to save the marriage? In view of 1 Cor. 7:9, would remarriage in such a case—even if it is a sin—be the “lesser of two evils”? ANSWER: First, let’s get this straight: 1 Cor. 7:9 does not apply to this issue in … Continue reading →

Salvation and “the Church of Christ”

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Salvation and “the Church of Christ” by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Friday, October 1, 2010 at 10:12am QUESTION: Is it true that only members of the Church of Christ will be saved? ANSWER: The answer to this question depends on what is meant by “the Church of Christ.” To clarify what I mean, I will first distinguish between the “church universal” and local congregations. The church universal is the worldwide body of Christ, the total number of people who are under the saving blood of Jesus. Paul often uses the word “church” in this sense, especially in Ephesians 5:22-32. Here … Continue reading →

Describing God

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Describing God by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, September 30, 2010 at 2:09pm QUESTION: How would you describe God? ANSWER: I appreciate the questioner’s wanting me to “describe God,” but I must confess that a thorough answer to this question requires an answer that would be much too large for a brief piece like this. In the early 1980s I set out to answer this question by writing a book on “What the Bible Says About God.” Before I finished, I had three large volumes totaling 1,500 pages. Originally published by College Press, they are still available from Wipf and … Continue reading →