Bible Questions with Andrew Farley

Yes. Being divorced does not automatically disqualify someone from serving in ministry. A person’s marital history does not cancel their place in Christ or their ability to love and serve others. In Jesus, believers are fully forgiven and made new (Ephesians 1:7; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

We’re called both the body and the bride of Christ because each picture reveals a different aspect of our permanent union with the risen Jesus.

God’s foreknowledge means that God knew and purposed His redemptive plan beforehand. It does not mean He arbitrarily preselected some individuals for salvation and left others without hope. In the New Covenant, God’s foreknown plan is centered on Jesus: salvation would be offered to the whole world, including both Jews and Gentiles. Anyone who calls on the Lord is welcomed and saved. Once a person...

Yes. Spiritually dead people can call upon the Lord when they hear the gospel. “Dead” describes humanity’s separation from God and bondage to sin—not an inability to respond to God’s invitation.

To fulfill the Great Commission means participating in Jesus’ mission to make disciples among all nations — not by striving under pressure, but by sharing the good news of Christ as the Spirit opens opportunities.

Yes. There is a place for church discipline—but its purpose is restoration and protection, not punishment, condemnation, or making someone acceptable to God. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul addressed an extreme, public case of sexual immorality that was being tolerated and even celebrated. The church was instructed to remove the man from the congregation temporarily.  This was not because he had lost sal...

No—a Christian cannot be possessed by a demon. God’s Spirit has taken up permanent residence in the believer, and the devil has no legal or spiritual “right” to take over what belongs to Christ.

No. Not every temptation comes from a demon. In Scripture, temptation can come through different channels, and for believers it’s also connected to the world, the flesh, and spiritual opposition—but the Bible never reduces all temptation to demons.

Sin is total in its reach (it affects the whole person and reigns), but grace is total in its remedy: Jesus transfers us from Adam to Christ and makes us alive (Colossians 1:13; Ephesians 2:4–5). We don’t get rescued by self-improvement—we’re rescued by Christ’s finished work and received by faith.

Two thousand years ago, the Corinthians were getting drunk and eating up all the food at the Lord’s Supper. It was for this reason that Paul said they were partaking in an “unworthy manner” and needed to examine themselves. But the Lord’s Supper is to be done in remembrance of Jesus Christ and His finished work, not in remembrance of our recent track record of sins. So, we can keep the focus on Je...

James 5:15 does express the believer’s forgiveness using future tense. However, James is simply presenting a hypothetical situation (“if he has committed sins”) and assuring his readers that such a person will be forgiven in that scenario. This passage is intended to be comforting for anyone who might be afraid of a future struggle. Any sin committed will be forgiven because of the finished work o...

There are two primary verses which might seem to teach against women speaking in church: 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, and 1 Timothy 2:12. However, neither verse is presenting a universal restriction for all time. Paul was addressing situations in the early church, not forbidding women from speaking in church for all of human history.

There is no Scripture that forbids women from being pastors/elders or deacons. The two verses commonly used to argue against women in leadership (1 Timothy 2:12; see also 1 Corinthians 14:34-35), are addressing specific situations in the early church. There are various examples of women in leadership in the New Testament.

Witnessing (or evangelism) is often held up as the ultimate in Christian experience or duty. While witnessing (sharing the Gospel) can be a great thing, problems can arise when we make witnessing into a duty, obligation, or measure of spiritual maturity. 1 Peter 3:15 instructs us to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do...

Hebrews 10:25 instructs us not to “neglect” meeting together. This does not mean we must meet with other believers for a formal church service on a Sunday morning, but we are designed to live in community with trusted Christian friends. We gather for the purpose of receiving encouragement in the truth of the Gospel.

Scripture does not say gambling is sinful. All things are permissible, however, not all things are beneficial (1 Corinthians 10:23). This means we need to determine whether gambling, or any activity, is mastering us or if we are simply doing it for enjoyment (like other activities that cost money). If we have any history of gambling addiction, godly wisdom and discernment would have us steer clear...

Some have interpreted Leviticus 19:28 to mean that Christians cannot get tattoos. This was just one of many prohibitions in the Law (including the avoidance of pork, shellfish, and clothing spun of more than one linen). However, Christians are dead to the Law (Romans 7:4), not under the Law (Romans 6:14), and Christ is the end of the Law for all those who believe (Romans 10:4). Therefore, believer...

While many see pain as an instrument given to us by God for spiritual maturation, God is not the cause of this fallen world. God uses pain for our good, but He does not send it (Romans 8:28).

The Biblical perspective on alcohol is found in Ephesians 5:18: “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” Believers are free to drink alcohol, always being wise and avoiding drunkenness.

We compare ourselves when we forget our righteousness and our new identity in Christ. Scripture says we are the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). We cannot improve upon this!

God’s love for us is expressed perfectly in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (Romans 5:8). We may not always feel this love, but over time we can know God’s love more deeply and comprehensively as we set our minds on all that Jesus has done for us (Ephesians 3:19).

Our worries are often the result of “what ifs” that penetrate our minds. We can only overcome worry when we realize we’re not in control of these “what ifs” or any other potential scenarios in our lives. All we can do is trust Christ as our life and allow Him to carry us through.

The reality is we believers are already set free from the power of sin, including pride, at the moment of salvation (Romans 6:2). As we fix our eyes on Jesus and bear the fruit of His Spirit in our lives, we won’t satisfy the desires of the flesh, including pride (Galatians 5:19-23).

While we are often tempted to label anger as a sin, the Bible does not make this statement. In fact, Scripture teaches that we can be angry while making the conscious decision to not sin (Ephesians 4:26).

We know God loves us, but what if we are faithless to God? We may worry that our doubts will somehow disconnect us from God. But any Christian can experience any thought at any time, and this includes thoughts of doubt. And God is clear that if we are faithless, He remains faithful to us, no matter what (2 Timothy 2:13).