Christian Perspective

Dear Phil, James 4:7 says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” How do you resist the devil? ~your student Dear Student, Effective resistance depends largely on proper preparation. If you wait till temptation strikes, you will be easy kill. We must do several...

Dear Phil, I am studying Hebrews 6:4-6, and I’m stuck.  It sounds as if it is saying that a person who is saved and then backslides can never be “renewed” again.  Could you shed some light on it for me? Tom Dear Tom, You’re right, that is precisely what the passage...

Do degrees of holiness here on earth result in degrees of reward in Heaven? ~Anonymous from California Dear Anonymous, First, are there degrees of holiness? Consider the tabernacle. The courtyard and all its equipment were holy, the “holy place” was more holy than the...

Dear Dr. Phil, I have two questions. If it is God’s will that no man perish, why did He create evil (Isa. 45:7)?  I used to believe that Lucifer created evil, but while reading Ezekiel 28:11-19 I noticed that Ezekiel says Lucifer was perfect in his ways until iniquity...

Dear Phil: In the Holiness circles I grew up in, all anger was sin. I saw plenty of church people get angry, but they called it “righteous indignation.”  If authority figures were questioned, they would get “righteously indignant” and say you were on your way to hell...

Dear Phil, A parishioner of mine wrote me the following letter. Can you help me respond to him? “The Seventh Day Adventist church I attended told me I was wrong to think that my wife, who recently passed away, with Jesus. I know the scripture says, "To be absent from...

Dear Phil: Why the blood? Why the Cross? Why the Resurrection? David Dear David, Let me approach your questions from several angles. If the question is, “Why is blood involved in salvation?” then the ultimate answer is because God sovereignly choose to design the...

Dear Phil,   A gentleman in our church recently joined the police force and asked me about interrogation tactics. Often interrogators will mislead a suspect into believing that his partner has ratted on him, hoping this will lead to a confession. Is it biblically...

Hebrews 12:14 charges us, “Pursue holiness!” The holiness we must pursue is God’s holiness. This holiness is perfectly seen in Jesus who was separated from all sin, blameless, pure, and righteous (Heb. 1:9; 4:15; 7:26). In response to the question, “How do we pursue...

In your article, “Holiness or Hell,” you explained what Hebrews 12:14 doesn’t mean—it doesn’t mean that a person has to be entirely sanctified to see the Lord; they have to be walking in all the light they have. You did not, however, explain what the verse does mean....