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R.A. Torrey

Practical and Perplexing Questions Answered

R.A. Torrey

R.A. Torrey's collection of answers to common theological and practical questions, including his affirmation that the Holy Spirit guided both the thoughts and precise words of biblical writers.

132 Chapters

Table of Contents

1 001. The Bible 2 002. Do you believe in the verbal inspiration of the Bible? 3 003. Are all parts of the Bible equally inspired of God? 4 004. If the Holy Spirit is the author of the words of Scripture, how do we account for varia... 5 005. If the Bible is verbally inspired, why do not the Gospel writers give Jesus’ and other ... 6 006. How would you endeavor to interest an indifferent person in the study of the Bible? 7 007. Is the Bible an all-sufficient guide to heaven? 8 008. God 9 009. What reasons have we for being sure that there is a personal God? 10 010. What do you mean by saying God is a person? 11 011. Has God a body, or is He merely an invisible spirit? 12 012. How do you reconcile man’s freedom of choice with God’s foreknowledge and foreordination? 13 013. Please explain the meaning of the passage: “Being delivered by the determinate counsel ... 14 014. If God is a God of mercy and love and the director of the universe, why does He send ea... 15 015. If God exercises general government and control over the entire universe, how do you ex... 16 016. Jesus Christ 17 017. How would you prove that Jesus Christ is really the Son of God? 18 018. Does the Bible teach that Jesus Christ is coming back to this earth personally and visi... 19 019. How is Jesus Christ coming again? 20 020. Do you believe that the second coming of Christ is near at hand? If so, why? What shoul... 21 021. The Holy Spirit 22 022. Does the Holy Spirit live in and remain with the believer, or come and go? 23 023. Please tell something about waiting on God for power for service. 24 024. Creation 25 025. How are miracles possible if the laws of nature are fixed? 26 026. Has the age of miracles passed away? 27 027. Why doesn’t God work miracles today as in Christ’s time? 28 028. How can God permit evil to exist in the world? 29 029. How is it that a holy and just God allows the wicked to prosper while the good often su... 30 030. Does trouble come from God? 31 031. Do you believe God ever sends trouble to us purposely, or that it comes in the natural ... 32 032. Is the world growing better or worse? 33 033. Man 34 034. What does Genesis 1:27 mean when it says: “God created man in His own image"? 35 035. What do you mean by the doctrine of total depravity, and how do you prove it? 36 036. What difference does it make what religion a man professes provided he does the best he... 37 037. I would like to believe, but cannot. Will God condemn me for something I cannot do? 38 038. Is there any difference today in God’s sight between Jews and Gentiles? 39 039. Satan 40 040. Do you believe in a personal Devil? 41 041. Why did God create Satan, or the Devil? 42 042. Can God destroy Satan? 43 043. Why does not God destroy Satan if He is omnipotent? 44 044. Angels 45 045. Please explain Matthew 18:10 : “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for... 46 046. Sin 47 047. What is original sin, and how is it just to hold us guilty of it? 48 048. Atonement 49 049. What theory of the atonement does the Bible teach? 50 050. How could God punish His innocent Son for the guilt of man? 51 051. What is meant by Hebrews 10:26—"If we sin willfully after that we have received the knowled... 52 052. Ought we to confess our sins to man, or only to God? 53 053. How is conviction of sin produced? 54 054. What character of preaching would you advise to bring to the people a realization of th... 55 055. What does John 20:23 mean: “Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and wh... 56 056. How would you deal with a backslider? Is there hope for him, and how? 57 057. I was converted several years ago, but am constantly giving way to temptation. I know t... 58 058. Justification And Eternal Security 59 059. Is it right for a person to say that he is saved before he dies? 60 060. May I know that I am saved, and if so, on what authority? 61 061. What do you mean by justification by faith? 62 062. Is faith the only means of salvation? 63 063. How do you harmonize the Calvinistic view of the perseverance of the saints with the Ar... 64 064. May I not merit heaven by my good works? 65 065. Some teach that a believer is sanctified instantaneously, others declare that sanctific... 66 066. Is the doctrine of sinless perfection Scriptural? 67 067. How can 1Jn 3:6; 1Jn 3:9 and kindred passages in that epistle be adequately reconciled ... 68 068. Some years ago I was converted and led a happy Christian life for some time. Then I fel... 69 069. The Church And Its Ordinances 70 070. Why was the Jewish sabbath, or the seventh day of the week which God commanded in the F... 71 071. What are the conditions of entrance into the church? 72 072. Ought we to invite to the Lord’s table all who believe themselves to be Christians whet... 73 073. Is it ever right to ask unconverted, though moral, people to teach a Sunday school clas... 74 074. Do you believe in having different denominations? 75 075. Do sects do more harm than good in the cause of religion? 76 076. What do you think of the institutional church? Is it not detrimental to the real work o... 77 077. What should an earnest Christian do in a day when the churches are so full of worldline... 78 078. What part ought foreign missions to have in the life of the church and the individual b... 79 079. Is baptism necessary for salvation? 80 080. After Death 81 081. What becomes of our spirits when we die? 82 082. Does the Bible teach an intermediate state of the dead? 83 083. Upon death does one’s soul pass straightway to heaven or hell, or is there an intermedi... 84 084. How is God going to judge the heathen? 85 085. Can the heathen be saved by following the best light they have? 86 086. How do you prove immortality of the soul? 87 087. Do the Scriptures teach conditional immortality? 88 088. Does Luke 15:4 give clear warrant that Christ is going to continue to seek and to save a... 89 089. Does not 1Pe 3:18-19 teach another probation after death? 90 090. Are those who die in infancy lost forever? 91 091. Is there any Scripture that goes to show that the children of unbelieving parents will ... 92 092. Heaven And Hell 93 093. What must one do to get to heaven? 94 094. How is it possible we shall rise again with the same bodies we had upon earth? 95 095. What kind of a body shall we have in the Resurrection? 96 096. How could a loving God create some of His creatures for eternal punishment? 97 097. How can an infinitely holy and merciful God condemn creatures He loves to everlasting p... 98 098. Is it not unjust to punish a few years of sin with an eternity of torment? 99 099. Would an earthly father consign his child to everlasting suffering? And if he would not... 100 100. If any one is lost eternally, has not Satan then gained the victory over Christ, and is... 101 101. Please explain Psalm 139:8 : “If I ascend up into heaven Thou are there; if I make my bed... 102 102. Christian Conduct 103 103. What is meant by the consecration? How often should a person consecrate himself? 104 104. What advice do you give for making a success of the Christian life? 105 105. Is it Scriptural for a Christian to work for reward? 106 106. How may I realize a love for souls? 107 107. Should a Christian ever marry an unbeliever? 108 108. Does James 5:14-15 ("Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, an... 109 109. Where does it say in the Bible that dancing is a sin? 110 110. Does Matthew 5:42 teach that a Christian should give to every one who asks him for money if... 111 111. Some people hold that Christians should not insure their lives, property, etc., because... 112 112. Should “What would Jesus do?” be the standard for Christian conduct and practice today? 113 113. Prayer 114 114. How do you know God answers prayer? 115 115. Is not praying asking God to change a law of nature which He established? 116 116. Why should we tell God our needs when He knows them beforehand? 117 117. To whom may I properly address prayer—to God the Father only? 118 118. Is it right to pray to Jesus Christ and to the Holy Spirit? 119 119. Why are not all our prayers answered? 120 120. If the Lord did not answer your prayers, what would you think was the matter? Would you... 121 121. How shall I pray so as to get what I ask for? 122 122. Ought Christians to fast? 123 123. The Future 124 124. What is the Millennium? 125 125. Will the Millennium be a period of soul-saving revival? 126 126. Who is the Antichrist, and when will he appear? 127 127. Roman Catholicism 128 128. What does Matthew 16:18 mean: “Thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church"? ... 129 129. What does Matthew 16:19 mean: “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and... 130 130. Was Peter the first pope? 131 131. Spiritualism 132 132. Can a Christian be a spiritualist?

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