Tag Archives: Resurrection

BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD (2)

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BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD (2) by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 3:01pm BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD (2) QUERY: First Corinthians 15:29 says, “Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?” What is Paul saying here? It does not seem to fit with everything else the Bible teaches about personal salvation. ANSWER: What does not seem to “fit” here is the supposed implication that an individual’s personal choices during this lifetime are not necessarily the measure of whether or … Continue reading →

Did Jesus Go to Hell To Pay for Our Sins?

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Did Jesus Go to Hell To Pay for Our Sins? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 3:37pm QUESTION: Recently I heard a man say, “Jesus went to hell so you wouldn’t have to.” Where does this idea come from? Didn’t Jesus imply that he was going to Paradise when he died (Luke 23:43)? Does it not border on blasphemy to say that Jesus went to hell to pay for our sins? His atoning blood is what paid for our sins, not His suffering three days in hell “so we wouldn’t have to.” Have you heard of … Continue reading →

WHAT WILL BE OUR ACTIVITIES IN HEAVEN?

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WHAT WILL BE OUR ACTIVITIES IN HEAVEN? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Saturday, May 22, 2010 at 1:06pm QUESTION: What kinds of activities will we be engaged in when we get to heaven? ANSWER: To answer this question, I have selected some paragraphs from chapter 32, “Heaven,” of my book, “The Faith Once for All.” Here I divide our activities in heaven into physical, mental, and spiritual. Regarding the PHYSICAL, what about activities that give us physical pleasure in our present lives, i.e., eating, drinking, and sex? This question is neither irrelevant nor irreverent, for these are normal and good … Continue reading →

Are Sinners “Begotten” to New Life Before Being “Born Again” in Baptism?

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Are Sinners “Begotten” to New Life Before Being “Born Again” in Baptism? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 1:14pm QUESTION: What do you think about the analogy that the work of the Holy Spirit before baptism is similar to that of the gestation period in the birth of a baby? This is the idea that the seed of the Word of God begins to produce spiritual life as soon as the sinner believes and repents. As that seed develops and grows, and as changes begin to occur in the attitudes and actions of the individual, he … Continue reading →

Will There Be Sexual Activity in Heaven?

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Will There Be Sexual Activity in Heaven? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Saturday, April 10, 2010 at 8:00pm QUERY: I have a question about whether or not there will be sex in Heaven. I really DO honestly wonder about it. One friend cited C.S. Lewis. What is your opinion on the subject? ANSWER: I have dealt with this subject briefly in my book, “The Faith Once for All,” in chapter 32, “Heaven” (on pp. 567-68). I understand our final heaven, our eternal abode, to be the new heavens and the new earth of 2 Peter 3:13 and Revelation 21:1, where … Continue reading →

Who Are the “Elect Angels” in 1 Timothy 5:21?

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Who Are the “Elect Angels” in 1 Timothy 5:21? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 2:55pm QUERY: Today I came across 1 Timothy 5:21, which refers to “the elect angels.” This seems to say that angels are elect. How does this tie in with elect humans in regards to Calvinism? Are there any verses that say that angels had/have free will and made their own decisions? ANSWER: We know relatively little about angels in general, but we do know that there is an invisible and a visible creation (Col. 1:16), which probably refer to this physical … Continue reading →

Were Old Testament Saints Truly Forgiven?

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Were Old Testament Saints Truly Forgiven? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 12:34pm QUESTION: I have heard it said that God could not truly forgive sins until Jesus died on the cross; therefore the Old Testament saints were in a real sense “put on hold” and were not actually forgiven and allowed into Paradise until after Jesus died. Until that time, according to this view, they were in a kind of neutral “holding pen,” or state of limbo called the “limbus patrem,” the “limbo of the fathers,” where (as one writer says) “the just of the … Continue reading →

Does Col. 1:15 Say That Jesus Is a Created Being?

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Does Colossians 1:15 Say That Jesus Is a Created Being? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 3:10pm QUESTION: Do NT references to Jesus as “firstborn” (e.g., Colossians 1:15) and “begotten” (e.g., Heb. 5:5) imply that he is a created being? ANSWER: It is true that the human aspect of Jesus of Nazareth, and thus the human being, Jesus of Nazareth, had his beginning (came into existence for the first time) in the womb of Mary when the angel’s promise in Luke 1:35 was fulfilled. In that same moment the divine aspect of Jesus, namely, the second … Continue reading →

Grace, Law, and the New Covenant

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Grace, Law, and the New Covenant by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 9:39pm QUESTION: What is the connection between the New Covenant and the “grace system,” to which you refer in your book, “Set Free! What the Bible Says About Grace” (pp. 50-51)? I have been taught by Restoration Movement teachers that grace is a New Covenant reality, i.e., that the New Covenant has replaced the Old Covenant with its legal requirements, and that we are now saved under the New Covenant by grace. In other words, to be under the New Covenant is synonymous with … Continue reading →

Is Infant Immersion a Valid Baptism?

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Is Infant Immersion a Valid Baptism? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 5:00pm A SERIOUS QUERY: In our congregation we accepted a member by transfer upon his testimony that he had been previously immersed. We have only recently discovered that he was indeed immersed, but as an infant in a Greek Orthodox church. He assumed that this was sufficient; and no one is questioning the genuineness of his faith or his salvation, because he is certainly displaying the fruit of the Spirit. But now that we have the facts, we are not sure what to do. … Continue reading →