Questions about God are always important! Whenever we try to describe God, words will always fall short. We simply don't know everything about God. We don't even have an earthly parallel to God, so we can't study things that are like God to discover more about Him. Every analogy is incomplete in some way.
I'm happy to see that you're looking for a second opinion on whether anyone, including Hank Hanegraaff, is a false teacher. That's wise. This article is based on an email exchange and is a work in progress. It's designed to continue the conversation about false teachers, not to end it.
A lot of GodWords readers consider themselves "Torah-observant." They believe that Christians are to live by the same laws given to the ancient Israelites. A primary verse in their argument is Matthew 5:17, where Jesus says that He came not to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them. Are they right? Are Christians under the law?
Is the Kingdom of Heaven the same as the Kingdom of God? Are they different? If they're the same, why do different books of the Bible use different words to describe the same thing? What does each phrase mean? The Bible is complicated. While it looks like a single book, it's really a group of 66 unique books.
Over the years, a lot of people have asked me to list preachers and teachers of Christianity that I trust. In light of the increasing number of false teachers gaining prominence in our culture, it seems wise to go ahead and make the list. Many find it difficult to know who to trust, and I hope to be helpful. Here is a list of Bible teachers I can recommend.
Genesis tells of people who lived very long lives. Methuselah was the oldest, living 969 years. This chart, and the following table, show each person in the family line from Adam to Abraham. The numbers are taken from Genesis 5 and Genesis 11. While some biblical genealogies are incomplete, listing only prominent people instead of every generation, this list reflects direct father/son relationships.
Finding a good church can be very difficult. Before making recommendations, I'd like to say a few things first. As a churchgoer since age 6, and as former pastor, it seems important to understand WHY some have a hard time finding a church where they feel comfortable. Here are some of the reasons given:
