Questions and Answers of the Faith

Below you will find questions with answers arranged by topic.

Topics are added as questions for them are formed. All are written from the one_monk perceptive which will include citations and references to creeds/confessions/catechisms of those who have come before.

Baptism

What is Baptism?

  • Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament instituted by Jesus Christ to be unto the party baptized a sign of his fellowship with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection, of this being engrafted into Him, of remission of sins, and of his giving up himself unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life. (The Baptist Catechism 1693) See Matt. 28:19; Rom. 6:3-5; Col. 2:12; Gal. 3:27; Mark 1:4; Acts 2:38, 22:16.

Bible

Can the Bible be trusted?

  • Absolutely. The Bible is a work inspired by God and is without error. There are far more old copies (manuscripts) and fragments of the Bible going all the way back into antiquity than any other work in recorded history so we have a thorough trail of proofs of the modern copy’s authenticity.

How many books in the Bible are there?

  • There are 39 books in the Old Testament section of the Bible and 27 books in the New Testament.

What languages were the Scriptures originally written in? What parts?

  • There are three languages. They are Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. Hebrew makes up much of the Old Testament with parts of Daniel, for example, having been written in Aramaic. Koine Greek is the tongue of the New Testament.

Christ

Is Jesus Christ God?

  • Jesus Christ is God incarnate. He is the Son of God, part of the Trinity (God in 3 persons).

Who is Christ?

  • Christ is the Messiah foretold. We know Him as Jesus of Nazareth (Yeshua/Y’shua\Yehoshua).

Commandments

What are the 10 Commandments? (their nature)

  • They are the ten core laws passed to us from God through Abraham after the exodus from Egypt.
  • They are also called the Decalogue.
  • These laws for life are fundamental and they easily intertwine with each other, and they have gives birth to other rules to live by.

What are the 10 Commandments? (their content)

  • You will find them in Exodus chapter 20 and Deuteronomy chapter 5.
  • Commandment 1: There shall be for you no other gods before me.
  • Commandment 2: You shall not make for yourself a divine image with any form that is in the heavens above or that is in the earth below or that is in the water below the earth.  You will not bow down to them, and you will not serve them, because I am Yahweh your God, a jealous God, punishing the guilt of the parents on the children on the third and on the fourth generations of those hating me, and showing loyal love to thousands of generations of those loving me and of those keeping my commandments.
  • Commandment 3: You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God, because Yahweh will not leave unpunished anyone who misuses his name.
  • Commandment 4: Remember the day of the Sabbath, to consecrate it. Six days you will work, and you will do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath for Yahweh your God; you will not do any work—you or your son or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your animal, or your alien who is in your gates— because in six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and on the seventh day he rested. Therefore Yahweh blessed the seventh day and consecrated it.
  • Commandment 5: Honor your father and your mother, so that your days can be long on the land that Yahweh your God is giving you.
  • Commandment 6: You shall not murder.
  • Commandment 7: You shall not commit adultery.
  • Commandment 8: You shall not steal.
  • Commandment 9: You shall not testify against your neighbor with a false witness.
  • Commandment 10: You shall not covet the house of your neighbor; you will not covet the wife of your neighbor or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that is your neighbor’s.

— Above commandments come from the LEB translation of Exodus 20.

Creation

How old is Earth?

What is creation?

  • Creation refers to everything. God made everything that is before us including our very selves. Each is a created work and therefore God’s creation.

Justify/Justification

What is justification?

  • It is a legal term referring to being declared right/just before the law. See the –ologies & Key Terms post for more.

Politics

Should Christians be involved in politics?

  • Yes. The Christian faith has historically proclaimed a message that has proven to get political on more than one occasion. The key here is for us to remember that our priority is to the gospel and to spread it to all so that their thinking is conformed to Christ. This inevitably will have political implications and, at times, consequences from those who wish to stop the positive impact of the gospel.

Should Christians run for public office?

  • Running to be a public servant would prove difficult but not impossible. You truly need to be called to it and be ready to deal with the push-back.

Is it right for Christians to engage in social justice?

  • If by social justice you mean social righteousness, then yes. However, if you mean it as CRT/Cultural Marxists do, then absolutely not. See details as to where one_monk stands on this in On Social Justice.

Salvation

Is Christ the only way?

  • There are many who will try to tell you that there are multiple ways to salvation and “God.” Jesus Christ is quite clear that it is only through Him you can find the path (the way). See John 6:22-71, 8:12, 14:6; Mark 14:53-65.

Sin

What is sin?

  • It is any want, desire, action, etc. that goes against God’s law. It is transgressing God’s law. (Modernized language based upon the Westminster Shorter Catechism question)

What is original sin?

  • This refers to the passing on of what we call our sinful nature. Every human being has a proclivity to sin because of the first sin committed in the Garden of Eden by Adam and Eve.

Social

What about social justice?

  • See the above answer to the question “Is it right for Christians to engage in social justice?”. Also see the entry, “What is social righteousness?” below.

What is social righteousness?

  • It involves doing things. Specifically, doing what Christ called us to do as His followers. We are to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked . . . essentially help people with their basic needs such that they ask why we would even care. The gospel informs every action and we point to Christ in all that we do and say as we do it. It is showing Christ in ourselves to all. It is not self-righteousness. See Matthew 15:32, 25:31-46; Romans 12:20
  • This term was coined during the Social Gospel Movement.