When searching for answers to open questions about the Gospel, one is overjoyed to discover a competent information website. Moreover, one sees that it is visited by millions of people seeking to fill in the necessary gaps in their knowledge. If the information already gathered is then confirmed, one quickly feels reassured. Trust grows. The main thing is that it sounds “good.” However, if one uses God-given reason and the potential for personal responsibility and undertakes independent research, a genuine surprise is almost certain to follow.
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“Passionate Gospel Specialists”
The effort to confuse and alienate those still interested in the Gospel (“despite everything”) is in full swing. Ironically, those who present themselves as “universal answerers” to all theological questions are serving up the most outlandish variations, all of which, however, conform to the prevailing narrative. Unfortunately, such online offerings are extremely popular.
This is the case with the “Answers” page, which specializes in gospel topics, “gotquestions.org“. With more than 10,000 answers and a good 17 million visitors per month, the response to the answers to a wide range of questions is very strong.
The bullet-point research on the topics “10 commandments valid for Christians”, “what happens after death?” and “what the Sabbath means” also “naturally” yields a result.
Are the 10 Commandments valid for Christians?
The corresponding answer begins with a groundbreaking statement: “The law of the Old Testament was given to the people of Israel, not to Christians.” Its purpose, the answer states, was to guide God’s people to the Promised Land. While the respondent describes various distinctions between ceremonial and civil laws, all of which served a specific purpose—such as organizing their communal life, forgiving sins, and distinguishing them from the surrounding Gentile nations—the conclusion is that “none of the laws of the Old Testament are binding for Christians today.”
OT law obsolete
Christians today stand under the “Law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2) instead of the “old law,” as well as the law of Jesus according to John 13:34 (“Commandments of Love” – Info).
However, at this point it is “simply overlooked” that Jesus Christ did not define a new law, but quoted, specifically from the Old Testament and specifically from the Book of Moses (Leviticus 19:18 and Deuteronomy 6:5).
The answer was that the law of the Old Testament is therefore not useless or irrelevant. It reveals much about God’s nature and shows our actual distance from God. The “proof” for this is found in Romans 5:20.a:
“For God’s law was given so that all people might recognize how sinful they are.“, at least that’s the stated meaning of this verse. However, if you look at the Bible itself, the following picture emerges:
“Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound.,”
Because it offers an opportunity
Then follows another, very troubling justification. “Those who are obligated to observe the Sabbath according to the law may not eat catfish or wear clothing made of a cotton blend. All who rely on the works of the law are under the curse.“
While the statement itself isn’t inherently wrong, the ingenious construct lies in its connection to the Sabbath. Here, it’s suggested that the Sabbath belongs to the abolished laws, which, like the others, if strictly observed, would lead to a relapse into legalism and thus also fall under a curse. In essence, one rejects the grace of Jesus. Strong stuff.
Romans 3:20 and Galatians 2:16 are cited as references. However, Paul makes this unequivocally clear in the same chapter (Romans 3), if one were to follow the passage independently beyond the verse cited as “proof” (Romans 3:31):
“Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.“
Check it out yourself!
Likewise, a self-critical examination of such a statement yields a different result. The responding author refers to a statement in Galatians 5. The content is very similar, as follows:
“Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.” (Galatians 5:2-3)
“Circumcision,” keep the whole law. Does it say anything about the “Sabbath”? Nowhere, not even in the surrounding area! Just check for yourself.
The Sabbath, the Fourth Commandment, is, self-explanatory, part of the unchanging commandments and not a ceremonial law of Moses (Info). The difference between the Law of God (Ten Commandments) and the Law of Moses (ceremonial law) is much more profound than suggested in the answer (Info).
What the Sabbath means today
One answer explicitly addresses the modern meaning of the Sabbath, the Fourth Commandment (Exodus 20:8-11). It begins with a quote: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” The Sabbath is defined as the “seventh day.” And then comes the implied limitation: “The Israelites under the Mosaic Law had to” observe it. From today’s perspective, the answer concludes, the commandment no longer makes sense.
The Sabbath for the Israelites was an integral part of the Old Covenant, the text emphasizes. Today, Christians are no longer bound by the Old Covenant, and therefore the obligation to observe the Sabbath no longer applies, the text concludes.
Commandment becomes ceremonial law
It is conveniently overlooked that the Fourth Commandment is only one of the Ten Commandments. Neither Commandments 1 to 3, nor 5 to 10 have been altered, and yet the Fourth Commandment is supposedly invalidated by chiseling it out of one of the stone tablets? That alone sounds completely illogical and unjustifiable. In fact, clear references to an unchanged Sabbath valid for all people are also very common in the New Testament (Info).
Anyone interested in the historical development of Christianity should also have a general enthusiasm for history. Then there’s a very good chance of recognizing that the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, has been massively opposed from the very beginning through a veritable campaign, right up to the present day (Info).
What happens after death?
Another fundamentally important topic is the state of a person after death. This is automatically connected to the nature of the human soul. The informative website also begins with an accurate observation on this subject. It notes that there is great confusion surrounding this topic. Some believe that after death, a person “sleeps” until Judgment Day and then ends up either in Heaven or Hell. Others, however, assume that immediately after death, a person is judged and transferred to one of these two “institutions” according to their predetermined fate.
Then there is the further category of those who believe that people’s souls temporarily enter a “pre-heaven” or a “limbo” and must remain there until the Last Judgment delivers the final verdict. This then leads to the intriguing question of what the Bible actually says about this.
And now the narratives begin
The article states that the Bible teaches that the soul or spirit of the believer is taken up to heaven after death. This is because they accepted Christ as their savior, and their sins were thereby forgiven. Two verses are cited to support this sweeping statement:
“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.” (John 3:16).
“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” (John 18:36)
This already presents a first problem. Both verses used describe a “related” theme, but in no way support the author’s propagated version.
“Correctly” interpreted
The same applies to the next interpretation offered. “For believers, death means ‘separated from the body and at home with the Lord,'” according to the biblical passage presented as fact, specifically 2 Corinthians 5:6-8:
“Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.“
Paul speaks clearly of the “desire” of the believers, but not of an announcement that this “emigration from the body” will actually happen.
Even the first “evidence” presents extremely “rotten eggs” and, accordingly, a changed expectation as to whether, for once, teaching will take place according to the Gospel.
Repeatedly: Study the Bible yourself!
This is followed by another alleged factual description: The reunited soul, and the spirit and the glorified body exist for eternity in the new heaven and on the new earth. Chapters 21 and 22 of Revelation are cited in this regard.
Here too, you are invited to pick up the Bible yourself and read the two chapters yourself (the real Bible! Info). Ideally, also read chapters 7 and 19.
Hellenistic-Roman tradition
The fundamental problem lies in the assumption that soul and body are separate entities. This is simply not the case, because humans do not HAVE a soul; rather, the living human being IS the soul. Even the Roman Catholic Church knows this perfectly well, as the Bible in the Old and New Testaments actually states, yet it brazenly teaches the opposite (CCC 366) – Detailed information – here.
That the Church of Rome is fully aware of this is revealed by this doctrinal institution itself – here.
Thus, the “enlightenment portal” also stubbornly adheres to the originator or disseminator of purely Hellenistic philosophy and concludes that after death, a person is either in a place of comfort or in a place of torment. Clearly not biblical.
A very well-known handwriting style
The creator, or operator, of this informational website calls itself “Got Questions Ministries,” based in Colorado Springs, USA, and has apparently been active online since 2002. The website describes itself as a portal within a network of websites with a “common mission.” Its orientation is described as “Christian, evangelical, theologically conservative, and interdenominational.”
What’s particularly striking is the self-explanation of why one should trust “GotQuestions.org”.
“odern technologies offer us many new ways to exchange information. Unfortunately, these same technologies also make it just as easy to spread rumors, myths, and misunderstandings as the truth. In a world full of fake news, trust is hard to gain. That’s why it’s important to check sources.““
The last sentence is entirely correct. The rest is reminiscent of a statement that is not obsolete, but still fully valid today:
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field
Genesis 3:1
Bible verses from King James Version (1611)
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