Appendix A: Questions Every Christian Should Investigate

The following are 116 questions that every Christian should ask not just themselves or their pastor, but more importantly, the Bible.  True “Bible-believers” must train themselves to ask questions of the text.  Doing such will drive a Christian deeper into Scripture in order to obtain answers and this practice inevitably leads that Christian to a deeper understanding of who Jesus Christ is and what He has done for us.  It will also result in a closer relationship to the One who created all things, the One who finished the work necessary for our salvation.  The following questions are organized by subject area.

The Gospel / Salvation / Christ:

1. Who is Jesus Christ?
2. What does the term “Christ” mean?
3. Is Jesus Christ God?
4. What is the Gospel?
5. Is there more than one Gospel within Scripture?
6. Has the Gospel, the “good news,” always been the same message proclaimed throughout the Bible?
7. Are your sins forgiven? If yes, how did that happen?  If no, why not?
8. Are you born into sinful Adam?
9. Do you have a finished, complete, present possession of salvation?
10. Define what “salvation” is.
11. What must I do to be saved?
12. Did Jesus Christ ever sin?
13. Is there anything that you can do in order to be accepted by God, to be pleasing to God?
14. Was Moses saved by grace through faith in the finished work of the cross of Jesus Christ?
15. Did Moses believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ?
16. Was Moses justified by faith alone?
17. If the “Five Solas” of the Reformation (sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus, soli deo gloria, sola scriptura) stress “faith alone,” how does one explain James 2:17 – “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”
18. Did Abraham, Moses, David, or Solomon have the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ applied to their “account(s)” by the time each of them died?
19. If Christ died for the sins of the world and you are saved not by what you do, but by what He did, understanding that sin is sin, is there a sin that God cannot forgive?
20. If God has forgiven you of all trespasses (Col 2:13), is there a sin so large that Christ’s blood cannot pay for it?
21. Is how one receives salvation by grace through faith, and thus becoming part of a new creature called the body of Christ, discussed throughout all of Scripture? If not, where is it discussed within Scripture?
22. Are you born again?
23. How did God save men and women in the Old Testament?
24. How was one saved within the four Gospels?
25. How does an unsaved man repent of his sins?
26. Whenever the “kingdom of heaven” is preached as “good news” within the four Gospels, why is it that healings, cleansing, and the casting out of demons are associated with that message?
27. Did the gospel of the kingdom preached in Matthew 4:23 include the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 15:1-4)?
28. What was the content of the gospel that the twelve were preaching when Jesus sent them out two-by-two in Luke 9:1-6?

The Bible:

29. Is everything in the Bible written specifically to you?
30. Would God ever keep a secret from His Creation (mankind)?
31. What two people groups existed within the world before the creation of the Church, the body of Christ?
32. Does your church/pastor/denomination preach Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery?
33. When comparing Romans 16:25-27 with Acts 3:19-21, what is the difference between that which was spoken…since the world began and that which was kept secret since the world began?
34. Where within the inspired word of God do we find information regarding the mystery of the Church, the Body of Christ?
35. When did the Old Testament period end? (circle one)
    • At the end of the book of Malachi (the last book of what Christians call the “Old Testament”).
    • At the birth of the Church.
    • At the crucifixion of Christ.
    • At the end of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John).
    • It has not yet ended.
36. What does Scripture say was Jesus Christ’s purpose for coming to this Earth?
37. Where is the kingdom of God – in Heaven or on Earth?
38. Are we currently living in the kingdom that the Old Testament and the four Gospels speak to?
39. What do you find to be the most confusing section of Scripture within the entirety of the Bible?
40. What is the last book of the Bible that you studied in-depth?
41. What book of the Bible are you currently engaged in a study with?
42. With the creation of the Church, the body of Christ, what three “groups” exist within the world today?
43. If, according to traditional dispensationalism, the Church, the body of Christ, began in Acts chapter 2 at Pentecost, why are any of the writings before Acts 2 (the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, the Olivet Discourse, etc.) retroactively considered to be doctrine for the Church, the body of Christ?
44. What is the Great Commission?
45. Are there any errors, mistakes, or contradictions within the Bible?
46. Are the chapter numbers and verse numbers within the Bible inspired by God?  How about the two pages that read “Old Testament” and “New Testament”?

The Church:

47. What is the Church?
48. Is there a difference between Israel and the Church, the body of Christ?
49. If there is a difference between Israel and the Church, when did that change (that difference) go into effect?
50. When did the Church, the body of Christ, begin?
51. Where within Scripture does the Church, the body of Christ, find its doctrine, message, pattern, and commission?
52. What is the mission of the Church (the marching orders provided to the Church, the body of Christ)?
53. When will members of the Church, the body of Christ, be placed into their resurrection bodies?
54. If the Church, the body of Christ, started in Acts 2, why do Christians not sell all of their possessions and live communally together as demonstrated in Acts 2:45 and Acts 4:34-35?
55. What does the word “church” mean?
56. What is the “Rapture” and do you believe that such an event will happen one day?
57. Are you waiting for Christ’s Second Coming or for the snatching away of the body of Christ?
58. After this life, will you possess earthly promises or heavenly promises?

The Apostles:

59. When Jesus picked His 12 apostles, what number was Paul within that group?
60. Are Peter, James, and John members of the body of Christ?
61. Why did the apostles rush to replace Judas Iscariot after he committed suicide? (casting lots and the addition of Matthias in Acts 1)
62. Was Paul one of the 12? If yes, how?  If no, why not?
63. Who is your apostle?
64. Did the apostles rush to replace the apostle James, the brother of John, after he was martyred in Acts 12:2?
65. Did the remaining 11 apostles replace James at all within the Bible?
66. Did Peter, James, and John die saved or unsaved?
67. Within the book of Acts, why are Peter and the other 11 apostles not mentioned after chapter 15?
68. Why did Jesus send Paul to the Gentiles?
69. Why did God choose Paul when He had 12 apostles?
70. Why did Paul rarely associate with the 12 apostles?
71. Did the apostle Paul receive revelation concerning the mystery of the Church, the body of Christ?
72. Was the mystery of the Church, the body of Christ, exclusively revealed to the apostle Paul?
73. Is there any time before Paul (Acts 9) that an apostle taught the mystery of a new creature made of Jew and Gentile, saved without the Law, without Israel, apart from their covenants?
74. Did the church at Jerusalem go to Gentiles and evangelize to them with the gospel?

The Jews / Israel / Gentiles:

75. Was Adam a Jew or a Gentile?
76. Are you a Jew or a Gentile?
77. Within Old Testament times, did God instruct the Jews to evangelize the surrounding nations?
78. Why did Jesus not have a ministry to Gentiles?
79. Why did Jesus command the 12 not to go to Gentiles?
80. Are you found within the group called the bride of Christ?
81. Why did God choose the Jews?
82. Are you of the Circumcision or of the Uncircumcision?
83. When a Jew died in the Old Testament and the four Gospels, was his/her expectation that he/she would join God in Heaven?
84. What does the term “Messiah” mean?
85. Are you a member of the body of Christ?
86. During 6 BC, 100 BC, or 400 BC, what was a Jew’s expectation concerning their Messiah?
87. What two subjects predominated Jewish theology, particularly their eschatology?
88. Why were the Jews commanded to perform animal sacrifices?

The Law / Covenants:

89. Where within your English Bible is the first place that the word “covenant” is used?
90. Which of the various covenants (common names used by theologians) can you list?
91. Was Abraham under the Mosaic Covenant?
92. When did the New Testament (New Covenant) begin?
93. Within the entirety of the Bible, what or who is the entity that God has chosen to enter into covenant with?
94. What was the sign of the covenant that God made with Abram?
95. Was Moses the dispenser of the Law?
96. Is the Gospel a covenant?
97. Has God made a covenant with the Church, the body of Christ?

Baptism:

98. What baptism were you baptized by?
99. Have you been water baptized?  Yes / No

• If no, skip the remainder of this question.
• If yes, after your water baptism, were (or are) you able to do any of the following (circle all that apply):
  • cast out devils
  • speak with new tongues
  • handle serpents (snakes)
  • drink any deadly liquid
  • heal the sick by laying hands on them

100. Is baptism, either through immersion in water or the sprinkling on of water, a requirement for salvation?
101. Is baptism a prerequisite for membership or taking part in the Lord’s Supper (Communion) at your church?
102. How many baptisms does the apostle Paul state that there are currently?

The Holy Spirit:

103. What is the Holy Spirit’s function?
104. Paul states in Ephesians 1:13-14 that the believer, at the time of belief, is sealed with the Holy Spirit as a guaranteed down payment of salvation. Was this function of the Holy Spirit the same in the Old Testament and will it be the same during Daniel’s 70th Week, the Tribulation period?
105. When does the Holy Spirit indwell a Christian?
106. Will those who believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah be indwelt with the Holy Spirit during Daniel’s 70th Week (the Tribulation period)?

General Questions:

107. Did Jesus, the 12 disciples turned apostles, and Paul preach different messages to their audiences?
108. If a person of average IQ, with zero influence or exposure to the claims of Christianity, was handed a Bible and asked to read it straight through from Genesis to Revelation, would that person have the same understanding of the “program” of God (His timeline of events, His will, and His means of providing salvation) as compared to the understanding they would have if they attended seminary?
109. Circle all that apply:

• I am a member of the body of Christ.
• I am a child of the prophets.
• I am part of the bride of Christ.
• I am “in Christ”.
• The Bible calls me “sheep”.
• I am an ambassador for Christ.
• I am part of a holy nation and a royal priesthood.

110. What is the difference between religion and Christianity?
111. What are “tongues,” as described within the Bible, and are they for today?
112. Do you believe in progressive revelation and can you define the theological term?
113. Define Hyper-Dispensationalism.
114. Why does evil exist?
115. Describe how it is that the Bible states that God will defeat evil.
116. Is Prophecy being fulfilled today?