Bible Questions with Andrew Farley

The expression “fallen from grace” does not refer to loss of salvation but loss of perspective when a person (even a believer) shifts away from looking to Jesus for righteousness and seeks to establish their own self righteousness.

“Once saved, always saved” is absolutely biblical. Our sins have been completely forgiven – past, present, and future (Hebrews 10:14). We have received the gift of eternal life, not temporary life. And God has given us many promises assuring us that He will never leave us. For these reasons, we believers are saved completely and forever (Hebrews 7:25).

We know that God is faithful to people in a general sense, but what about to individuals? Will God ever give up on you? No, God never gives up on you. God will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). No one can snatch you out of His hand (John 10:28). Even when you are faithless, He remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:13). Nothing separates you from the love of Christ (Romans 8:38).

God has promised to never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). But that’s God’s end of the bargain, right? What if you walk away from God? Many Christians worry about this perceived possibility. If you’re the new self with a new heart, then you’re a “slave of righteousness” (Romans 6:18). You have an undying love for Jesus (Ephesians 6:24), and you’ll never want to walk away from God. Even if...

The term “backslide” is really an Old Testament concept related to being under the Law. It implies you were climbing, making progress, then your strength failed, and you slipped and started to slide back. Jeremiah 3:6 (KJV) says: “The Lord said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, ‘Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done?’” In Jeremiah 8:5 (KJV), it appears as well: “Why the...

Some overstress the importance of water baptism even to the point of believing it to be necessary for salvation. You may even be asking yourself, “Should I be baptized again?” However, baptism is simply a symbolic expression of the salvation that occurred within us when we believed (1 Peter 3:21). So, if you’ve been baptized and desire to do so again now that you understand the Gospel better, you...

No, Hell is a place for fallen angels and those who have rejected the Gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:9; Matthew 25:41, Revelation 14:10). Christians are already raised and seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6) and nothing separates us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:38-39).

Scripture only lists one unforgivable sin: the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit or the sin that “leads to death” (1 John 5:16; Matthew 12:31-32). This sin is simply unbelief in the Gospel and has nothing to do with suicide. The false idea that suicide is an unforgivable sin stems from Catholicism which holds that a last confession is necessary in order to be forgiven (and someone who dies by suic...

No, a Christian cannot forfeit or give up their salvation. This is because God has changed them from the inside out and given them a desire to always believe in Him (1 John 3:9, 23; Ezekiel 36:26-27; Romans 6:17). Believers love Jesus Christ with an undying love (Ephesians 6:24).

What exactly is the purpose of baptism? While some teach that water baptism is necessary for salvation, Scripture makes the opposite claim – that it is not water baptism but spiritual baptism into the resurrection of Christ that actually saves (1 Peter 3:23). Furthermore, the Apostle Paul states that Christ did not send him to baptize but to preach the Gospel (1 Corinthians 1:17) – an odd statemen...

The word “Christian” was first used in Acts 11:26, and it refers to people who believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ for forgiveness and eternal life (John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:1; Romans 10:13). We become Christians by believing the same message about Jesus Christ and receiving Him into our lives.

To understand why Christ died, we don’t need to look further than the Law which states, “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22). Jesus’ death was required for our forgiveness, and His death brought perfect forgiveness to all who believe (Leviticus 17:11, Hebrews 10:14).

The resurrection of Jesus Christ proves His divinity – that He has power over sin and death. But the resurrection is also important to the believer, as it is the means by which we have received new, resurrection life and new identity in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:17; Colossians 3:1).

The term “altar call” conveys Old Testament imagery of dead animals laying on altars for Israel’s atonement. In the New Covenant, Jesus was placed on the last altar, the cross, to take away sins once and for all (Hebrews 10:10). So, while God has saved people through altar calls at church services, the imagery actually conflicts with the New Testament reality of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

In Matthew 7:13, the narrow gate is the way of grace, and the wide or broad gate is the way of self-righteousness. Not many find the narrow gate (Matthew 7:14), because the religions of the world encourage good behavior for salvation, and this is very appealing to people. Scripture is clear: We must set aside our efforts to earn or maintain righteousness with God and humble ourselves by receiving...

While many believe James 2 teaches salvation by doing good works, this is not what the passage means. James is actually saying we’re saved by a living faith that involves the one-time decision to open the door of our lives to Jesus Christ (just like Rahab opened the door for the spies) and to offer ourselves to God (just like Abraham offered Isaac). This “living faith” that saves is contrasted aga...

Scripture is clear that those who reject the Gospel (unbelievers) are not saved and remain unforgiven and unrighteous in God’s eyes. The idea that the whole world is saved (universal salvation) is popular today, but Scripture does not support it.

No, the whole world is not forgiven of their sins. Forgiveness is found only in Christ, not in Adam. A person must admit their sinfulness and their need for a Savior in order to be forgiven and cleansed of all their sins (1 John 1:9; Acts 26:17-18).

What if we don’t continue in the faith? Will we lose our salvation? Passages that speak of the need to “continue” or “hold fast” are addressed to those who are not yet saved and still need to continue hearing and believing until they take in the whole message of the Gospel. At some point, if they do continue, each will be born again. Once saved, we can do nothing to maintain or sustain our salvati...

Some believe an overemphasis on God’s grace will somehow lead to more sinning in the Christian life. But Titus 2:11-12 says the opposite: Grace is what encourages godly living. So, we need more grace, not less, if we want to overcome temptation. Being afraid of too much grace is like being afraid of too much victory over sin (Romans 6:14).

Many have tried to create a friction between the concepts of grace and obedience. However, grace and obedience are related and beautifully compatible. Romans 6:17 states that we believers have become “obedient from the heart.” By grace, we have been gifted with a new, righteous heart that is obedient to God. This is why we can afford to live under grace and watch as God grows us up as obedient chi...

While many promote the importance of the so-called “spiritual disciplines”, the phrase is not found in the Bible. Instead, Scripture teaches the importance of a relationship with God that flows naturally out of grace (Titus 2:11-14). So, we can choose to pray, read the Bible, etc. because we desire to, not because we have to do them.

The New Covenant began at the death of Christ (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 9:16). This means Jesus lived and ministered under the Old Covenant (Galatians 4:4). This is why some of Jesus’ teachings expose the true spirit of the Old Testament law.

he Bible teaches the new covenant is a promise that God made to Himself to save completely all who believe in Jesus (Hebrews 6:13-18). It is the promise of total forgiveness for all sins (Hebrews 8:12); a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26-27; Hebrews 8:10); freedom from the Old Covenant law (Hebrews 10:10; Galatians 5:1); and adoption as God’s children (1 John 3:1; Hebrews 8:11; Galatians 4:6). It is the g...

We’ve all heard we need to love God more and prove our love for Him. Some of us have even heard that we are to love God more than our own families! But this concept is actually absent from the New Testament. Scripture never encourages a new-hearted believer to love God more, because we already love Him to the utmost (1 John 3:23; Romans 6:17; Ephesians 6:24). Instead, the Bible encourages believer...