Bible Questions and Answers

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(All quotations from the King James Authorised translation unless stated otherwise).

Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

The Greek word translated damned is katakrino; it means ‘to give judgment against, to judge worthy of punishment’. It is used some 19 times in the New Testament and the King James Authorised version translates it as ‘condemn(ed)’ 17 times and ‘damned’ twice.

A couple of examples:

Matthew 20:18 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,

John 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Those who do not believe the gospel and are not baptised into Christ are condemned to eternal death. The punishment for all and every sin is death.

Ezekiel 18:4... the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death;

The only way that we can be saved from death is by having our sins forgiven and being resurrected from the dead. Remission of sins and resurrection from the dead is offered to those who believe the gospel, repent of their old way of life, are baptised into Christ and live the rest of their lives by his commandments

John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

If we do not believe, we die in our sins and are condemned to eternal death.

John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

If we do not believe, we perish.

John 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

We shall not see everlasting life.

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

John 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

There is no other way of being saved from death.

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Many Churches teach that we live on after death as an immortal ‘soul’ or ‘spirit’ and, if we are not saved, are condemned to eternal fiery torments in hell. This is false doctrine.

In the Bible ‘hell’ is simply the grave.

The dead return to dust and have no consciousness and without resurrection will remain so forever.

Ecclesiastes 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing,

Psalms 6:5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

Proverbs 21:16 The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.

Those who do not understand the purpose of God will remain dead forever. Those who fully understand the purpose of God become responsible to judgment. There is to be a resurrection both of the just and the unjust.

Acts 24:15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

Those that are condemned at judgment will die again. Revelation calls this the second death. In symbol it is a lake of fire representing utter destruction not eternal torment. Death and hell (the grave) are also destroyed in it.

Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

The choice is simple: Believe and obey and be raised from the dead with our sins forgiven to live forever when Christ returns; or refuse to believe, die in our sins and be condemned to eternal death.

If you want to come to grips with what the Bible really teaches, why not take the free Bible study course available on www.thisisyourbible.com? This course will give you a background in the major themes of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

As with everything we offer, there is no cost to you other than your time and effort. You will also have a personal tutor to whom you may pose questions either from the course itself or those questions which come to you as you read the Bible.

I hope this helps.
Glenn Smith