Category: Ask ACG

This is such an interesting question because it would be pretty rare for anyone living in Australia and particularly in Sydney to have not heard the name Jesus before. As a city, we are saturated with Bible-believing Christians and gospel-preaching churches. Yet, looking at global statistics, it shows a staggering 41.8% of the world population … Continue reading What happens to those who never get to hear the gospel?

The Case for Catechisms Well folks, it’s time for the Catechism of the week! If you’ve been a regular member at our GracePoint Sunday worship services, you will have noticed a few additions to our church liturgy over the past year. Most notably, the interactive segment of catechisms, where we get to hear a central … Continue reading Why Should We Catechise?

If one of your Christian friends were to ask you this question: Here's your friend: Do we get rewards in heaven? What would be your initial thoughts? If this is the first time you've ever encountered such a question, my best bet is that it would have made you quite uncomfortable! You were probably lost … Continue reading Do we get rewards in heaven?

Last night at ACG, one of our members asked this interesting question during QnA about the relevance of Jesus' command to "deny himself, take up his cross and follow me" for believers living in today's culture (see Matt. 10:38; Matt. 16:24; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; Luke 14:27). She mentioned how she recently heard a conference … Continue reading Does the command to “take up your cross” no longer apply to us today?

One of our members at ACG asked me this question recently because she's been feeling guilty for sleeping through her alarm, especially during her exam period. She's a overthinker, an overworker, and an overachiever. She's busy juggling many different responsibilities in her life and she tends to sacrifice her health to prioritise her studies. She … Continue reading Should I feel guilty for not studying enough?

Question: What is the purpose of fasting, and why don't modern Christians seem to fast as much anymore? What is fasting? To cut to the chase, fasting is a voluntary and deliberate abstaining of something that is good, namely food, for a temporary period of time for the primary purpose of intensifying our spiritual need … Continue reading What is the purpose of fasting?

Question: Actually received this question from one of my youth and we were quite perplexed with regards to how to answer! She was basically asking if God has no biological gender (neither female nor male), then why do we refer to God as "He" or "Him"? I suspect this might have something to do with … Continue reading Why do we refer to God in masculine terms?

Question: How should Christians think about saving money? How should we balance offerings to church, financially supporting overseas/local ministry work, money spent on daily living (e.g. expenditures from gathering with brothers and sisters, raising a family, etc.) and saving? From a purely financial standpoint, it is shrewd to save, but doesn't saving also raise issues … Continue reading How should Christians think about saving, giving or spending money?

In his earthly life, Jesus spoke on the topic of hell more than he ever spoke about the kingdom of heaven. He describes hell using vivid imagery all throughout the gospel accounts, illustrating it as a place of unquenchable fire (Mk. 9:43), outer darkness (Matt. 8:12), and eternal torment (Lk. 16:23) where there will be … Continue reading Are there different degrees of punishment in hell?

Two ACG members have asked a series of similar questions concerning the topic of assurance in light of last Friday’s exposition, and so I make it my aim to answer all these as succinctly as I can in this article: Question 1: In light of John 6:37, how do we make sense of those who … Continue reading Can true Christians fall away from the faith?

The following questions come from the passage 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Is the women not speaking directive aimed at church governance and involvement in teaching, or is it just a general command to be quiet during service? I'd hope it's not the latter because I know the women at our church are not mute every time … Continue reading Are women supposed to be silent in church?

Generally my blog writing doesn’t get much traction, so I’m always super thrilled whenever someone leaves a reply on one of my articles! A short while ago, a spicy skeptic posted a rebuttal to some of the points I’ve made in my article on Scripture Alone and this was his reply: “How can the word … Continue reading How can the Bible be God’s word when there are so many interpretations?

Question: Regarding last friday’s ACG bible study on Daniel, my microgroup members raised up two questions which I thought would be good to write in here.  1. If after recognizing our fears, we still hold onto it and it is somehow very hard to resolve, does this mean we aren’t trusting God after all? And … Continue reading How do you battle anxiety?

Humour is one of the great blessings God has given to mankind. Spontaneous joy is often received through our laughter at the comical incidents we experience in the world and with those we interact with. Scripture also presents humour and laughter as expressions of delight: Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who … Continue reading When does humour become sinful?

Reflecting back on my adolescent years when I attended a Catholic high school, we were often encouraged to pay an occasional visit to the chaplain of our school (or to the local priest nearby) to lay bare any sins that trouble our mind from the last time we visited them. These visits could be as … Continue reading Why must we keep seeking forgiveness from God if He has already forgiven us?

Those who have read the gospels would be well-acquainted with this rather daunting passage, when Jesus spoke these infamous words: “And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be … Continue reading Can Christians commit the unforgivable sin in Matthew 12:31-32?

From the early onset of childhood to late adolescence I was catechised by our education system that my very existence came about as a result of an evolutionary process, where every single living creature on the planet shared a common ancestor from a miniscule germ that lived billions of years ago. And alongside the vast … Continue reading Is evolution compatible with Scripture?

Question: We are called to be slow to anger (James 1:19-20) because it does not produce righteousness that God desires. But we've also read how God can be angry and it is justified considering how sinful we, his people, are. God's anger is thus a righteous anger. I'm wondering if we can too claim this … Continue reading Can sinful people have righteous anger?