Question of the Week

If witchcraft is a sin, would watching movies or reading books involving witchcraft also be sinful?

Question of the Week: If witchcraft is a sin, would watching movies or reading books involving witchcraft also be sinful?

People who support this kind of approach to scripture usually cite Romans 1:32 for biblical support. And while they do have a point in that approving of those that practice a particular sin reflects a heart just as in conflict with God as those practicing it themselves, we need to be careful we’re properly defining what that sin actually is. The biblical word for witchcraft is pharmacea in both the Old Testament Septuagint and early Greek copies of the New Testament. We get our term pharmacy from it in reference to drugs and medicine. The abuse of these substances in pursuit of “spiritual experiences” is what the passages are referring to when condemning and even claiming capital punishment is due towards those that practiced these things in Israel. In context, it isn’t hard to see why drug abuse is sinful and why promoting and dealing drugs would be something Israel’s government was told to strictly prohibit. The question then is how this relates to modern witches and warlocks that are portrayed with supernatural powers, but in reality are more comparable to adherents of New Age philosophy. It certainly can be stumbling for people to hear false doctrine if they’re not prepared to show where and why it falls short of reality. But when it comes to movies, it defaults to Romans 14:14-23. If it is nothing more than an illustrative story to you, then it’s no more sinful to watch Chronicles of Narnia as it would be Harry Potter. If you personally don’t like the association with modern understandings of witches and warlocks having more power than they actually have through their chants and rituals, then you’d be better off avoiding things that stumble you on a person-by-person basis. Don’t condemn the people who watch the films and read the books with a clear conscience. And don’t condemn the people who avoid them for the sake of their conscience.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

questionsforhope@gmail.com

Follow Twitter: @ScottR4H

Follow on CCF Facebook: facebook.com/ccftucson
Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on GodTube or YouTube.

Who are the Hebrew Israelites?

Question of the Week: Who are the Hebrew Israelites?

IUIC, or Israel United Under Christ, are commonly referred to as the Black Hebrew Israelites. They were founded in Harlem, New York on 1 West Street in 1969. The founder of the Israelite Universal School of Practical Knowledge developed the “12 Tribes Chart” identifying racial minorities in America as the True Descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Their core claims are that God elects people for salvation based on their skin color, salvation is by obeying the Law of Moses properly interpreted by their documents, and that all ethnicities that participated in the Trans-Atlantic Salve Trade were and are under God’s Judgment. They have developed their own version of the Hebrew Language, a large social media presence, and a notoriously racist rhetoric towards anyone against their group. There are various sects and groups within these doctrinal foundations that vary from street protestors to anti-white terrorist groups. They are able to avoid negative attention and exposure of their group under the guise of political correctness, but the rapid growth of their group has made this increasingly difficult. If you want to know more about where they are coming from as a cult, the book “Barack Obama vs The Black Hebrew Israelites” by Vocab Malone is an excellent resource. The reason we as Christians should stand against this movement has nothing to do with their ethnic identity. They make truth claims against the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whom they refer to as Yahawashai, as well as claims of racial superiority in direct contradiction to scripture. When people claim the God of the Bible hates all non-black people, whom they refer to as Esau by mishandling Malachi 1:3, Galatians 3:28 and Romans 1:16 would disagree with their claim that non-Jewish people even as they define it are cut off from a relationship with God. When people claim an angel appeared to their founder in his apartment in a white suit and a perfectly round afro explaining the Christian gospel wasn’t true, Galatians 1:6-9 would clarify that kind of deception should be expected and ignored. When people claim that knowing whether or not Jesus was ethnically dark or light skinned in order to have a real relationship with Him, you know that this is more about politically charged rhetoric rather than a genuine pursuit of God. When racism in history is answered by racism in the present, you have simply created another group of people that have missed the point of what makes people valuable. The moment that value system becomes so charged with anger that it disqualifies everyone for salvation who isn’t a part of your specific ethnic group and belief system, you’ve become a cult.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

questionsforhope@gmail.com

Follow Twitter: @ScottR4H

Follow on CCF Facebook: facebook.com/ccftucson
Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on GodTube or YouTube.

What did Paul the Apostle mean when he described himself as a drink offering?

Question of the Week: What did Paul the Apostle mean when he described himself as a drink offering?

2 Timothy 4:6 is a statement Paul the Apostle made at the end of his life in a Roman prison. After his second trial before Nero, he was sentenced to death by beheading since his Roman citizenship protected him from being crucified. Nonetheless, he was also an ethnic Jew who studied under the most prominent Rabbi Gamaliel at the time. In his final letter to his disciple Timothy, he naturally would make as many references to the Old Testament he spent his childhood studying that he could get away with. This particular reference to a drink offering was the measure of wine that would be brought to accompany freewill offerings. As the name suggests, they were not mandatory. They were simply explained as something they could do during the times of the feasts or anytime they wanted to be thankful to God for their relationship with Him. This sacrifice was essentially a barbeque that the individuals would eat at the Temple after the priests had ceremoniously prepared it and dedicated it to God. Even in the modern day, some preparation of meat-based meals wash the food in wine or beer as it’s being prepared. This not only enhances the flavor, but also the smell of the meat as it’s being cooked. The purpose of this is two-fold. In a practical sense, it made the time the family bringing the sacrifice to worship and be thankful to God able to enjoy the experience all the more. In a spiritual sense, it was a picture of God’s perspective on our prayers. From Exodus all the way to Revelation, the prayers of the priests on behalf of the people of Israel is described as a sweet smelling aroma to Him.
2 Corinthians 2:15
Numbers 15:3
This word picture emphasizes the same reality that would take place as this offering of wine was poured over the sacrifice while it was being burned/cooked on the altar. Going back then to Paul’s reference to himself as a drink offering, there are aspects of this that certainly don’t fit his current circumstances. He isn’t a literal eighth of a barrel of wine being poured over an offering to God in the Temple. Our first test then considered, we move from the literal to hyperbole and symbolism with a complete understanding of the context. His life was about to end concerning this earthly ministry God called him to. His blood was going to be poured out until his body would no longer sustain him and his consciousness went to be with the Lord. The laying down of his life for the gospel was one he freely choose to do. The example Paul sought to follow in life and death was the Lord Jesus’. We clarify these points simply by reading the next two verses.
2 Timothy 4:7-8
Therefore, Paul’s point in calling himself a drink offering was that he was freely giving His life out of gratitude for God doing the same for him.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

questionsforhope@gmail.com

Follow Twitter: @ScottR4HFollow on CCF Facebook: facebook.com/ccftucson
Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on GodTube or YouTube.

Does God accept us as we are or do we need to repent before we ask Him for forgiveness?

Question of the Week: Does God accept us as we are or do we need to repent before we ask Him for forgiveness?

According to the most direct example we have in scripture of salvation taking place outside of the nation of Israel, we look at the way it took place with Cornelius the Centurion in Acts 10:1-48. First, it is encouraging that regardless of the attitude of the messenger, God is honored most by the heart of the individual responding to it. So if someone gets saved under less than savory circumstances, we have it on scriptural authority that it isn’t invalidated by a corrupt pastor or a church that went on to compromise in major ways. Peter was reluctant to walk into Cornelius’ home and dragged his feet the entire way in spite of being given 3 visions explaining what he was there to do. God can minister in spite of the messenger. Second, verse 44 clarifies that the Holy Spirit fell on those who heard the word. It doesn’t say anything about prior repentance or that being something Peter clarified before salvation was possible for them. And finally, the purpose of salvation needs to be clarified in order to avoid misunderstandings about what we are being saved from. The reason Peter was sent to Cornelius in the first place wasn’t to leave them in sin, but to lead them to the Savior. The reason people emphasize repentance before salvation is possible is an attempt to respond to those who abuse God’s mercy as a means of getting away with the consequences of their lifestyle. While we acknowledge that verbally voicing a prayer doesn’t save anybody, claiming that repentance needs to come before salvation is possible is making the equal and opposite mistake under the same authority. Biblically, Salvation takes place when the Holy Spirit enters our hearts. This will naturally result in a change of heart and thus a change of life. It doesn’t precede this because it simply isn’t possible. Ephesians 2:1-3: is very clear that our state before God’s intervention in our hearts is dead and utterly unable to save ourselves. The mercy God has shown us is the conviction the Holy Spirit works in our hearts before salvation takes place. John 16:7-15: Salvation is when we acknowledge the sin He is revealing to us as a problem in need of solving. And it is through Jesus that we are born again and now capable of living our lives repenting from sin and pursuing a personal relationship with Him. Ephesians 2:4-12: Salvation is a gift that produces repentance, not a reward for the work of repentance.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

questionsforhope@gmail.com

Follow Twitter: @ScottR4H

Follow on CCF Facebook: facebook.com/ccftucson
Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on GodTube or YouTube.

Is there biblical evidence that we will see our pets again in Heaven?

Question of the Week: Is there biblical evidence that we will see our pets again in Heaven?

The Bible doesn’t say explicitly. When a question is asked about a matter we don’t know, we need to fall back on what we do know for certain in order to come to an informed and reasonable conclusion. It is also important to remember that these kind of conclusions are not the sort of things we should divide fellowship over. The only things we need to acknowledge as a fellowship are the reasons we come to these conclusions, not the conclusion itself. With all of that said, the conclusion on this question for our fellowship personally is that we will see our pets again in Heaven. The reasons we have come to that conclusion are all things even that people who disagree with the conclusion will agree on.
Fact #1: There are literal animals in Heaven. Revelation 19:11-14
Fact #2: God values the relationships we have with animals. Proverbs 12:10
Fact #3: All of Creation will benefit from the New Creation. Romans 8:20-25
For these reasons and others, we form an understanding of what we don’t know from what we do know. If there are animals in Heaven, then it follows that our pets could be some of them. If God sees our relationship with animals as a reflection of a right relationship with Him, it is unreasonable to think that He would cut us off from those relationships forever without rejecting a relationship with Him themselves. And if all Creation looks forward to our redemption, it follows that it would also benefit from it in some way. If you come to different conclusions from these passages, we can have a reasonable discussion as to why. The key is that our positions beyond the Bible are Biblically informed.

A Reason For Hope is a ministry of Calvary Christian Fellowship of Tucson

Listen: Monday – Friday 5-6pm, on 106.3FM Reach Radio

Email your questions:

questionsforhope@gmail.com

Follow Twitter: @ScottR4H

Follow on CCF Facebook: facebook.com/ccftucson
Watch our Frequently Asked Questions on GodTube or YouTube.

Follow us on our social media platforms!

If witchcraft is a sin, would watching movies or reading books involving witchcraft also be sinful?

Who are the Hebrew Israelites?

What did Paul the Apostle mean when he described himself as a drink offering?

Does God accept us as we are or do we need to repent before we ask Him for forgiveness?

Is there biblical evidence that we will see our pets again in Heaven?

What are you looking for?

Online Morning Devotional – Weekdays at 9 A.M. with Beau

Request For Services!

Our Church Location

Service Times

Office Hours of Operation

Meet our Pastor

What We Believe

watch & Listen Live!