...We Answer

Not every answer might comply with everybody's way of seeing things. Then I kindly ask you to hold it with Paul, who said in 1 Corinthians 13 that we now see in part. All of us answering here, stick to the basic faith statements as defined in the Apostle's Creed, yet further to that we know that there are also Biblical topics not related to salvation itself, that different people understand and see differently. So please keep this in mind in case you "stumble" over a certain answer - we would like you to be blessed by the challenge of different aspects!

Answer Set 6

Question: What does the bible say on obedience?

Answer from Polly: Obeying God's commands is what counts (1 Corinthians 7:19), taking captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Christ became obedient to death on the Cross to pay for our sins (Philippines 2:8), and since we are to be like Christ we too must obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29). In the Old Testament God set before the people a choice; blessings or curses. The blessings only if you obey the commands of the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 11:27, Jeremiah 11:1-5); the commands that Moses wrote clearly on stone that all might understand what God told him to write (Deuteronomy 27:8-10).

Children obey your parents (Ephesians 6:1-3); slaves obey your earthly masters (Colossians 3:22); obey your leaders and submit to their authority (Hebrews 13:17).

Question: Where does the bible say that God commands us to read? Where does he also commands us to go out and preach his word. Mahalo, Donna

Answer from Polly: Keep in mind that all scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) and that God does not make suggestions but every Word is a command and keeping God's commands is what counts (1 Corinthians 7:19b).

"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth", (2 Timothy 2:15 King James Version). "The Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they recieved the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day", (Acts 17:11). Matthew 28:19-20 is the command to go out and preach His Word. Also James 1:22 tells us not to just listen to the Word but to do what it says.

Question: Hi, I have a Question. Explain HIGH PRAISE SUNDAY. the meaning. thank you.

Answer from Polly: I have no Scripture for High Praise Sunday but will give you what most Christian churches call High Praise Sunday. This would be Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter. The name Palm Sunday is derived from the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem one week before His Crucifixion and Resurrection (Luke 19:28-38). The people praised the "King who comes in the name of the Lord", and spread out their cloaks along with palm leaves along His path. Palm Sunday is the beginning of Christians' Holy week leading to Easter Sunday, the day that Jesus rose from the tomb (Luke 24:1-8). This was the first 'mass recognition' of Jesus Christ as the King and the highest 'mass praise' He had received here on earth.

Question: Hi, I have a question on Matthew 27:52-53 "The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people."

Does this mean, by the time Jesus died on the cross, these people were resurrected? I thought all redeemed dead people will be resurrected or caught up together at the return of Christ.

Answer from Polly: Everything in the Bible is a SHADOW OF THINGS TO COME (Colossians 2:17); therefore the open tombs and the bodies rising was a shadow of the coming Resurrection (John 5:28, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, Revelation 20:5-6).

Read Matthew 27:52-53 carefully and you will find that the bodies came out of the tombs AND AFTER JESUS' RESURRECTION THEY WENT INTO THE HOLY CITY. Jesus is the Firstfruit of those who have fallen alseep or have died (1 Corinthians 15:20) and no one was resurrected before Him.

Now the question as to where the bodies went after they came out of the tombs. You need to understand that Paradise, which Jesus called the Bosom of Abraham, a section of Hades, held the saints of the Old Testament. This is where Lazarus was after he died (Luke 16:20-24) and this is why the rich man, who died and went to hell, could see and talk to him. This was the same Paradise that Jesus spoke of to one of the criminals on 'the other cross'; "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise", (Luke 23:43). I believe too, that this is where the holy people went that came out of their graves at the Resurrection since the scripture does not say that they went back into the graves (this was of course their spirits since their physical bodies had gone back to dust (Genesis 3:19).

Now about Paradise. When Jesus went and preached to the saints in prison (1 Peter 3:19), He was preaching triumph over His enemies, death, sin and Satan. He had won and death has been swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). Then He emptied Paradise or took Paradise and its occupants (dead believing saints of old) with Him into Heaven (Ephesians 4:8-10). "When He ascended on high, He led captives in His train". Jude 14 tells us that the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of His Holy ones'. These Holy ones are the saints of old that He took from Paradise when He ascended into Heaven.

Please remember that the 'preaching in the prison' that Jesus did was NOT to give anyone that was already dead another chance for salvation. This was not a sermon of salvation since you only have that when you are alive, but a sermon of victory over eternal death.

Question: What was special about each Disciple? I know that John was the 'Disciple that Jesus loved' but what were the other ones called?

Answer from Polly: A disciple is a follower of Christ and all Christians are disciples. The twelve to which you are probably referring were designated as 'apostles' and were especially called by Jesus to travel with Him (Mark 3:16-19) and among these were the 'inner circle' of Peter, James and John (Mark 9:2-13, Matthew 26:36-46). The twelve are listed in Matthew 10:2-4. Matthew was a tax collector who turned immediately to Jesus (Matthew 18:17); Bartholomew (Nathanael) asked if anything good could come from Nazareth and indeed found that the Messiah did (John 1:46); Judas was a devil (John 6:70, 13:26-27); Peter denied Him (John 18:17, 25-27); Thomas doubted (John 20:24-25); James and John were known as sons of thunder (Mark 13:17, Luke 9:51-56). The lesser James is not mentioned beyond the list of the disciples (Matthew 10:3) and the same is true with Philip (not the Philip in Acts 8:26-40), Thaddaeus and Simon the Zealot. Little more is known of Andrew (Mark 13, Acts 1:12-14) but he was possibly first a disciple of John the Baptist and led his brother, Peter, to the Messiah (John 1:35-42). God shows no favoritism and loves you the same as John (Romans 2:11).