Bible Questions Blog

Stumbling Blocks or Stepping Stones?

10/1/2026

Introduction. In a physical sense, many things can cause us to trip, stumble, and fall, potentially hurting ourselves – an uneven sidewalk, an area rug, excited pets, or objects left on the floor at night. Similarly, the Scriptures use the picture of stumbling to show a danger that can turn a person away from God. A spiritual stumbling block may be an obstacle, an enticement, or something disguised and difficult to see.

At the same time, we encounter many things when walking that help us through challenging areas. These may be actual stepping stones across a creek or aids like lights along a darkened path, handrails on the stairs or along a steeper path. Similarly, the Scriptures talk about aids for ourselves and others that help us on our spiritual walk.

A Spiritually Important Topic.

“We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness.” (1 Cor. 1:23)

Christ Himself became a stumbling block to many because they would not believe Him. Jesus warned that those who do not believe that He is the Christ will die in their sins (John 8:24). James likewise teaches that whoever keeps the whole law yet stumbles in one point is guilty of all (James 2:10). Moses gave the same sober warning: “Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them” (Deut. 27:26).

Peter illustrates another danger. He confidently said that he would never stumble because of Jesus, but before the rooster crowed, he denied the Lord three times (Matt. 26:33-34). We must therefore take stumbling seriously. Yielding to temptation, sinning, falling away, and being eternally lost are real dangers. By contrast, spiritual stepping stones help us through rough times, encourage endurance, and keep us on the path to eternal salvation.

Let’s consider this subject from four spiritual perspectives: external stumbling blocks, internal stumbling blocks, stepping stones for ourselves, and becoming stepping stones for others.

Grace and Peace Multiplied

9/1/2026

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, (2Peter 1:2)

Introduction. Grace and peace refer to our state of mind. Grace is the sense of favor felt in the presence of someone we know who cares about us, will always be on our side, and tries to help us no matter what kind of troubles and problems we bring upon ourselves. Peace is a state of harmony and union, without conflict and turmoil. When we live in grace and peace with God, there is serenity, comfort and a sense of belonging no matter what occurs. Nearly every book that Peter and Paul wrote begin with a greeting with grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Multiplying grace and peace creates the foundation for joy and rejoicing.

This is the refreshing promise to Peter’s words. Those carrying guilt, remorse and godly sorrow for their sins often cannot find the sense of favor and the comfort the gospel was designed to create within. Since the inspired word of God reveals that the more we come to know the character of God and of Jesus our Lord, the more grace and peace will be multiplied within our hearts.

To live in the presence of God with feelings of serenity, peace, without conflict and with a sense of belonging as a sinner is a difficult thing to do. Sin creates conflict and turmoil. It creates guilt, shame, remorse and the knowledge that we no longer belong or have the right to be in His presence. We know sin separates us from God and brings wrath on the sons of disobedience. Even with the passing of time and receding emotions, another sin always arises to reinforce our feeling of unworthiness. Add to this “blessed are the poor in spirit,” and “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart These, O God, You will not despise. (Ps. 51:17). What could we possibly learn about God’s character that would limit this?

The Narrow Gate

8/2/2026

Introduction. Because of the way Jesus concluded His Sermon on the Mount, we dare not ignore anything that was revealed in it! In few places in God’s word does a portion of Scripture end with such a powerful warning. The wise will take these words to heart and build their lives upon them.

“whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock ... and it did not fall for it was founded on the rock” (Mt. 7:24-25)
“everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand ... and it fell. And great was its fall." (Mt. 7:26-27)

This is not just a warning; it is a wonderful promise. Within “these words” Jesus has summed up the most important things that are necessary to build our hopes and dreams of eternal life upon. These sayings begin in chapter 5:1-2 when He goes up upon the mountain and ends in chapter 8:1 when He comes down. As genuine disciples begin their walk with God, they should spend time looking at, pondering and assessing the things in this sermon to be certain we are both hearing and remembering and growing to do what is contained in this sermon.

One of the warnings Jesus gave centers on the gate through which each disciple entered into the path leading to life. What is important about this passage is that He is not referring to those in the world. Only those disciples who have decided to walk with Jesus are under consideration. Among all the disciples in the world today, there is a very narrow gate that leads to life and only a few of those disciples have entered it. There is a second gate, a wide gate, that disciples can enter but that gate only leads to their own destruction. What is startling and terrifying to each disciple is His warning that many who believe they are disciples will enter this wide gate. Thus for each disciple the chances of entering into that narrow gate are far less than of entering into the broad gate.

"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Mt. 7:13-14)

Every devout disciple must continually assess the gate he entered. Since it is far more difficult to enter the narrow gate, the wise will continue to assess that gate as their knowledge grows to be certain it is the one Jesus created for us to enter. Nothing can be taken for granted

Responding Properly to God’s Promises

7/5/2026

Introduction. Our response to any of God’s commands with a promise always reveals our trust in God. No matter how wonderful and exciting the promise, it will not lead to a change of behavior or great efforts if there is any doubt about the certainty of being fulfilled. This sums up God’s interest in how Abraham responded to His promises. The more effort and sacrifice Abraham was willing to make, the more trust and confidence he manifested to God. Confidence in God is always seen in how much motivation, patience, endurance, and effort it creates. Without that, we don’t believe or trust to the level God demands in order to reckon it to us as righteousness.

Abram left Haran at God’s command to move to Canaan when he was 75. God promised to give him the land as an inheritance and make him a great nation (Gen 12:1-4). “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance.” (Heb. 11:8). After years of waiting, Abraham expressed his concern that he was still childless, yet it did not affect his obedience. God then expanded the promise. A son would come from his own body. His unwavering faith and trust in God was so great, “He accounted it to him for righteousness.”

This is the first time we see the premium and value God places on our trust in Him. Both favor and salvation are based on the depth of that trust. When Abraham was 85, Sarai did waver and devised her own plan to help God fulfill His promise. The ill-formed plan ended in disaster, but Abraham did have a son. (Gen. 15:1-6; 16:1-4).

God then made Abram wait another fourteen years. At ninety-nine, God gave the covenant of circumcision. If Abram circumcised himself and his entire household, God promised “you shall be a father of many nations.” In preparation, God then said, “No longer shall your name be called Abram, your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.” Then came the most amazing and exciting promise of all! Sarai’s name (meaning “princess” in a limited sense) must also be changed! God told Abraham her name would now be “Sarah” because “I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”

Action and Reaction

6/2/2026

Introduction. Newton's Third Law of Motion says every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This is a fixed axiom in physics, and has led to a better understanding of God’s creation. Since sin entered the world, it has also become an axiom for the emotional responses to the actions of others.

This emotional axiom leads to an escalation of conflict. Friendships that take years to develop can be destroyed in a few moments when an action meets with an equal and opposite reaction. When an outburst of anger in one person meets with an equal and opposite reaction in another it often escalates first to angry words and the often to evil deeds. Jesus summed up this worldly axiom when He said: “You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” In judicial proceedings where all facts are taken into consideration with guilt and innocence established by evidence, this is the fair and equitable way to justly mete out punishment to the guilty. In other words, the punishment must fit the crime. But when it becomes an axiom of how to treat people one another in daily life (i.e., “Do unto others as they have done to you.”), it is harmful and leads to great sorrow and often ruin the brightest links of life.

When we allow the rude and sinful actions of others to bring an equal and opposite sinful action within ourselves, we feel justified. Fairness has been restored and all is well again. Although it is so common in this age that it seems normal and even just, it is wrong and must be changed. Those who take a tooth when another takes their tooth or an eye when their eye is taken actually live by the law of the jungle in this age. If they hit you, you hit them. If they insult you, you insult them. If they cheat you, you cheat them. If they become your enemy and hate you, you become their enemy and hate them. Many are so convinced of this truth that a desire for vengeance and revenge is the equal and opposite reaction. Until this equal and opposite reaction is complete, there is a debt owed and sooner or later it must be repaid.

While Jesus admits that this is an accepted axiom of this age, it can have no part in the behavior of His disciples. Instead of living in a world where actions are controlled by the treatment of others, it is God’s will that we live above the actions of others and respond not with reactions to their action, but with the motives of love, mercy and kindness given by Jesus. If we want to be children of God, we must change our axiom or philosophy by which we live.

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; (Mt. 5:43-45)

Baptism

5/1/2026

Introduction. After reading everything the Holy Spirit has revealed in the gospel about baptism, it is difficult to understand why there is any controversy. If we listened to the many answers given today when asked “what must I do to be saved?”, one would think the Bible has so little to say that disciples must struggle with that answer. Yet when one searches the Scriptures, they can see very quickly that from the very beginning of the gospel, God gave a special role to baptism to bring salvation and remission of sins.

God sent John to baptize to prepare Israel for their Messiah and reveal Jesus to Israel (Jn. 1:24-33; Lk. 3:3-6). This should give clear indication of the importance baptism would be given in the gospel. John’s entire message revolved around baptism. “John came preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.” (Mk 1:4-5). It was such a vital part of his message that the Holy Spirit gave him the name “John the Baptist”. Not only was baptism universal, but its purpose of bringing remission of sins was made equally clear.

In the earliest days of Jesus’ ministry, He preached the gospel of the kingdom. He had every opportunity to refute the importance of John’s baptism. Yet not only was Jesus baptized “to fulfill all righteousness”, but He too “made and baptized more disciples than John.” Jesus later made acceptance or rejection of John’s baptism the difference between justifying God by being baptized or rejecting God’s will if they refused.

And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him. (Lk. 7:29-30)

This could have easily come to an end after Jesus returned to heaven and the gospel was to be taken into all the world and every nation. Yet not once but twice Jesus commanded it. He wanted baptism to continue as an integral part of the message, linking baptism to salvation in the Gospel of Mark and being made a disciple in Matthew’s gospel.

"Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” (Mk. 16:15-16)
“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Mt. 28:18-20)

Sin and Repentance

4/4/2026

Introduction. Mistakes are such a common part of our lives that many proverbs have been devised to excuse or explain failure. “I’m only human.” “Everyone makes mistakes.” “Nobody’s perfect.” “I did the best I could.” “At least I tried.” “I’ll do better next time.” “It’s not my fault.” Though some use these to justify failure, they have no purpose. They do not fix the mistake or remove the consequences. Yet it is important for Jesus’ disciples to carefully ponder these “excuses” to be certain they are not making similar excuses when sinning against God.

Cain should have seen God’s rejection of his sacrifice as a grave error. He should have felt remorse and shame that God was not pleased. Yet instead of remorse, he became sullen and angry. He refused to take responsibility. Maybe in his heart he felt: “I did my best”, or “at least I tried”, but for whatever reason he did not repent or show any sorrow for his actions. God warned him that sin is not static; if he did not repent and “do well”, the evil of his works would be compounded. It was because Cain refused to repent over these evil works that Abel lost his life, and Cain left the presence of God to live his life alone as he saw fit. (Gen. 4:1-16; 1Jn. 3:12)

This is the first of 580 times “sin” is used in the OT and is revealed in three distinct ways. First, it is related to when someone missed a target or a goal: “seven hundred select men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair’s breadth and not miss.” (Judg 20:16-17). Second, we see it when those entrusted with possessions lose or misuse them. As Jacob told Laban, “that which was torn by beasts... I bore the loss of it.” (Gen. 31:39) Third, it was used of one who lost their way or missed the path: “whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.” (Pr. 19:2).

The Lord Working With Them in Evangelism

2/28/2026

Introduction. The conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch is one of many examples of how Jesus continued to work with His church after He sat down at the right hand of God exalted. Philip was in Samaria working with the church there. Jesus needed him elsewhere. After the angel of the Lord told Phillip to “go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza,” He used providence and simple “time and chance” for everything else. He calculated the time and distance to bring Philip from Samaria to the road before the eunuch passed by. Philip was 40 miles to the South of Jerusalem while the road to Gaza led the eunuch southwest, away from Philip. The Lord knew exactly when the Eunuch would leave, how quickly he would be traveling and how long it would take Philip to get to just the right place on the road. (Acts 8; Ecc. 9:11)

With precise timing, Philip met the eunuch on the road at the moment he was reading Isaiah. Even the passage regarding the Messiah in chapter 53 had been planned and the eunuch was reading and pondering it when Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading. This gave Philip the perfect opportunity to preach Jesus. Providence with time and chance were again revealed when, at the just the moment, as the eunuch was considering being baptized, the chariot came to a body of water. You can hear the excitement in his voice. “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”

There is no doubt this is one of the many ways Jesus has fulfilled Mark’s final words: “they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them. (Mk. 16:20). Matthew added “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Mt. 28:20). Just as Jesus worked with them, He is working with us today and will continue to work with His disciples until the end of the age! Many other Scriptures prove and elaborate on this. First, Jesus told the church in Philadelphia, “See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it.” (Rev. 3:8-9). To those in Antioch, “the hand of the Lord was with them,” (Acts 11:20-21). Peter said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod.” (Acts 12:11).

Not only Jesus, but God and the Holy Spirit also worked with them: “the Holy Spirit said, Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Acts 13:2-3). After they returned from this work, “they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.” (Acts 14:27-28). Later, “they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia” and “they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. (Acts 16:6-7). They were being directed as they went to every nation. Paul knew: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.” (1 Cor. 3:6-8)

God Chose Foolish Things of the World to Shame the Wise

2/3/2026

Introduction. That “God chose foolish things to shame the wise” answers a contentious question dividing those who call themselves Jesus’ disciples. When a “foolish thing” God clearly chose becomes a point of mockery or contention in the world, some believe it should be changed to keep the church growing. Others affirm that since the problem came from the world, Scripture is still flawless and cannot be changed.

God selected things He knew the world would see as foolish to test the faith and resolve of believers. Those who trust Him will accept the limitations He has given. But the proud will change what this world scoffs and scorns. By this choice they will be identified. Those expecting God to be pleased and praise them for the good results of their changes will be greatly disappointed. God has warned that the reason He did this is “that no flesh should boast in His presence.” This is a prophecy that will not fail! No one standing in His presence will be praised or allowed to boast. God never has and never will need help from fallen man.

How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? 35 Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him? (Rom. 11:33-36).

No one has ever counseled God! No one has first given to Him. Those who seek to “fix” a foolish thing God placed in Scripture are not counseling God. They are boasting in what should and will make them ashamed. This motivation arises from the pride of life, not a love for God. With God’s thoughts higher than the heavens above our own, what could we add or change? The things that appear to be foolish are a test, just like the one God gave to Abraham. God put these foolish things into Scripture to see what we will do with them. If we are wise, we will just do what God commanded whether they seem foolish to us or not.

But it doesn’t stop with foolish things! God also selected weak things of this world to shame the mighty, base (worthless) things of this world, despised things and even things that do not exist in this age.

God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.

The Everlasting Wisdom of God

1/3/2026

Introduction. In our youth, the ability to master a task and do it well was very important to our self-esteem. Over time we learned that this is the essence of wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to understand what needs to be done, seek out the best way to do it, and apply oneself to the task until they can do it well. In this way we gained success, respect, and excellence.

This is a tiny portion of the wisdom God used when He created the heavens and the earth. Because we are in His image and after His likeness, we have access to this wisdom He left for us to use. It is an everlasting wisdom, existing in eternity, and used by God in all that He created.

The Lord possessed me (wisdom) at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth.” (Pr. 8:22-23)

When we follow God and seek His wisdom, we begin our journey to restore His image and likeness within us, making wise decisions and working in fellowship with Him to accomplish His eternal purpose. (Eph 3:9-10). This will bring great blessings to us and glory to Him. (1Pet 4:10-11). But there is a grave danger that we must put forth our greatest efforts to avoid.

The eternal wisdom of God has a devious and seductive counterfeit. In our world that is cursed by sin, a new wisdom has been devised to work with sin and error to gain great success. It is this wisdom that destroys others to enrich themselves. It makes people experts at the selfish misuse of others, including God, for their gain. This is the wisdom that false teachers use: “This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.” (Jas. 3:15-16)

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Alan Hitchen