“search the scriptures” John 5:39

Author –

Richard Collings
Articles by this Author
An Assembly of the Lord’s people will be a people among whom … Prayer Arises to God – Part 7
As we examine the scriptures, we discover that the churches of the first century came together for at least six different kinds of meetings. Due to the prevailing social conditions, they may not have …
Richard Collings
2020 Volume 75 Issue 2
Devotional
An Introduction to a Study of Future Events
God has never been involved in prediction or speculation, such actions are the feeble attempts of mere mortals to ascertain the future. In contrast to these deficiencies, James reminds the Council of …
Richard Collings
2010 Volume 65 Issue 3
Study
An Overview of the Lord’s Supper
Introduction On the eve of His crucifixion, just prior to leaving the upper room for His solitary vigil in Gethsemane, the Lord Jesus issued a commandment to His disciples to do something for each oth…
Richard Collings
2014 Volume 69 Issue 1
Exposition
Pauline Metaphors – Part 3: Adoption
Introduction The word adoption only occurs five times in the New Testament and is confined to Paul’s letters.1 There are indications of this doctrine in the Old Testament, e.g., Exod. 4. 22, 23; Hos. …
Richard Collings
Studies in Pauline Metaphors
2022 Volume 77 Issue 3
Question – Is it wrong for a woman to cut her hair?
Question Is it wrong for a woman to cut her hair? Answer When the woman responded to the serpent’s temptation in the Garden of Eden, one of the mistakes she made was to add to the instruction that the…
Richard Collings
2011 Volume 66 Issue 3
Question Time
Question – Will there be different levels of reward for believers?
Question Will there be different levels of reward for believers? Answer Each person who becomes a Christian passes through three forms of ‘judgement’. Firstly, they were judged as sinners, a judgement…
Richard Collings
2011 Volume 66 Issue 2
Question Time
Question Time
Question Can past sins prevent current service for the Lord? Answer Years ago I worked with a colleague who had the annoying habit of not supplying a direct answer to a direct question. Stephen’s resp…
Richard Collings
2010 Volume 65 Issue 4
Question Time
Question Time
Question In light of the truth of election, is it right to pray for the salvation of a specific individual? Answer Ever since the first century there have been many doctrinal controversies that have d…
Richard Collings
2010 Volume 65 Issue 3
Question Time
Question Time
Question How can I love some Christians when I don’t even like them? Answer Our question contains two words which, in everyday conversation, are often used interchangeably but actually they are very d…
Richard Collings
2010 Volume 65 Issue 2
Question Time
Question Time
Question What should be our attitude towards Jehovah’s Witnesses? Answer In urban sprawl, leafy suburb or rural outback the devotees of the Watchtower organisation will be present – and active. Climat…
Richard Collings
2010 Volume 65 Issue 1
Question Time
Question Time
Question I don’t know when I was saved – is my profession of salvation genuine? Answer Probably the majority of readers will find it difficult to relate to this question because the moment of their co…
Richard Collings
2009 Volume 64 Issue 4
Question Time
Question Time – Does the New Testament prescribe how we should sit at the Lord’s Supper?
Question Does the New Testament prescribe how we should sit at the Lord’s Supper? Answer Several hymns infer that in meeting to remember the Lord we sit in a circle, or on four sides with the emblems …
Richard Collings
2014 Volume 69 Issue 2
Question Time
Question Time – Is it essential for an overseer to be married?
QUESTION Is it essential for an overseer to be married? ANSWER I assume the questioner is thinking about 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse 2 and Titus chapter 1 verse 6 rather than expressing any personal pre…
Richard Collings
2015 Volume 70 Issue 1
Question Time
Question Time – Is the way we gather the most important issue in our Christian life?
QUESTION Is the way we gather the most important issue in our Christian life? ANSWER This is not an easy question to answer for it is almost certain that whatever response is given I will be in a ‘no …
Richard Collings
2014 Volume 69 Issue 3
Question Time
Question Time – Should Christians fast?
QUESTION Should Christians fast? ANSWER To begin, it is necessary to define what is meant by ‘fasting’. In its primary usage, fasting refers to the voluntary abstaining from food, but, perhaps in a se…
Richard Collings
2018 Volume 73 Issue 3
Question Time
Question Time – Should small assemblies merge if that is geographically possible?
QUESTION Should small assemblies merge if that is geographically possible? ANSWER I cannot comment as to whether assemblies ‘should’ merge but that they ‘could’ do so is very evident in many areas. No…
Richard Collings
2014 Volume 69 Issue 1
Question Time
Question Time – There was a lot of music linked to worship in the Old Testament, is it appropriate for today?
Question There was a lot of music linked to worship in the Old Testament, is it appropriate for today? Answer Generally speaking, up until the middle of the twentieth century many assemblies had no m…
Richard Collings
2018 Volume 73 Issue 1
Question Time
Question Time – What are the fundamental doctrines of Christianity?
QUESTION: What are the fundamental doctrines of Christianity? ANSWER We are living at a time when ‘fundamentalism’ is perceived to be something extreme and to be avoided, but the question above is vit…
Richard Collings
2015 Volume 70 Issue 3
Question Time
Question Time – What should we do if someone says they have lost their faith?
QUESTION What should we do if someone says they have lost their faith? ANSWER The first thing we would need to do is establish what the person means by stating that they have ‘lost their faith’. It m…
Richard Collings
2018 Volume 73 Issue 2
Question Time
Question Time – Why have the Jewish people been so hated and persecuted through the centuries, e.g., in the time of Esther, and the Holocaust?
Question Why have the Jewish people been so hated and persecuted through the centuries, e.g., in the time of Esther, and the Holocaust? Answer God chose a special nation in order that in Abraham’s see…
Richard Collings
2019 Volume 74 Issue 1
Question Time
Question Time – Would it be in order to have a hymn or reading between breaking bread and drinking the cup?
Question Would it be in order to have a hymn or reading between breaking bread and drinking the cup? Answer Although we are given very clear instructions as to the preparation required by those who pa…
Richard Collings
2017 Volume 72 Issue 2
Question Time
Question Time – Are there scriptural grounds to justify leaving one assembly to join another in the
QUESTION Are there scriptural grounds to justify leaving one assembly to join another in the same locality? ANSWER In the answer that appeared in the November 2010 magazine I began by referring to a f…
Richard Collings
2013 Volume 68 Issue 4
Question Time
Question Time – Can a Christian commit the unpardonable sin?
Question Can a Christian commit the unpardonable sin? Answer This question reminds me of an incident that occurred many years ago at a gospel meeting in a small assembly in one of the South Wales vall…
Richard Collings
2019 Volume 74 Issue 4
Question Time
Question Time – Can I use my natural skills in the service of the Lord?
Question Can I use my natural skills in the service of the Lord? Answer Throughout the book of Acts, and in the Epistles, there are numerous examples of servants of the Lord engaging in a diversity of…
Richard Collings
2012 Volume 67 Issue 4
Question Time
Question Time – Does the Bible specify a dress code for the meetings?
QUESTION Does the Bible specify a dress code for the meetings? ANSWER It is easy to assume that the ‘biblical’ dress code for the meetings is the one that prevails in the part of the world where we li…
Richard Collings
2011 Volume 66 Issue 4
Question Time
Question Time – Does the first part of 1 John chapter 3 verse 8 teach us that a Christian will never sin?
Question Does the first part of 1 John chapter 3 verse 8 teach us that a Christian will never sin? Answer In responding to the above question it may help to quote what the verse actually says and then…
Richard Collings
2019 Volume 74 Issue 3
Question Time
Question Time – Does the New Testament stipulate what meetings an assembly should convene?
Question Does the New Testament stipulate what meetings an assembly should convene? Answer Whilst there may not be specific scriptures stating in precise terms what meetings an assembly should convene…
Richard Collings
2016 Volume 71 Issue 2
Question Time
Question Time – Does the teaching of 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verses 2-16 apply only to assembly gat
Question Does the teaching of 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verses 2-16 apply only to assembly gatherings? Answer From the outset of history it has been the intention of God that there should be order in H…
Richard Collings
2013 Volume 68 Issue 1
Question Time
Question Time – Is any aspect of the Mosaic law binding on Christians? 
QUESTION Is any aspect of the Mosaic law binding on Christians? ANSWER It must be a real source of comfort and encouragement to every Christian to know that, in these days of upheaval and insecurity, …
Richard Collings
2020 Volume 75 Issue 1
Question Time
Question Time – Is ill health an evidence of God’s chastening?
QUESTION Is ill health an evidence of God’s chastening? ANSWER The root cause of all suffering is sin not sins. For example, a baby that only lives a few hours or weeks does not die because it has sin…
Richard Collings
2016 Volume 71 Issue 4
Question Time
Question Time – Is it appropriate for assemblies to donate to non-Christian charities?
Question Is it appropriate for assemblies to donate to non-Christian charities? Answer I have no experience of charities that operate outside of the United Kingdom so my response has to be limited to …
Richard Collings
2017 Volume 72 Issue 3
Question Time
Question Time – Is it essential that an assembly should convene a weekly gospel meeting?
Question Is it essential that an assembly should convene a weekly gospel meeting? Answer Throughout the United Kingdom, and probably in many other countries, it has been the custom for assemblies to h…
Richard Collings
2019 Volume 74 Issue 2
Question Time
Question Time – Is it wrong for a Christian to be cremated?
QUESTION Is it wrong for a Christian to be cremated? ANSWER Before answering this question it has to be recognized that some Christians do not have any choice as to what happens to the body of a decea…
Richard Collings
2013 Volume 68 Issue 2
Question Time
Question Time – Is it wrong for a Christian to go out with someone who is not saved?
Question Is it wrong for a Christian to go out with someone who is not saved? Answer From a natural perspective, it is quite possible that a Christian will find an attraction to someone who is not a b…
Richard Collings
2018 Volume 73 Issue 4
Question Time
Question Time – Should elders discuss matters relating to oversight with their wives?
Question Should elders discuss matters relating to oversight with their wives? Answer Before answering this interesting question there are a couple of matters that need to be clarified, even though it…
Richard Collings
2012 Volume 67 Issue 3
Question Time
Question Time – Should some assemblies consider meeting in a house instead of a hall?
Question Should some assemblies consider meeting in a house instead of a hall? Answer There will be many assemblies where the possibility of meeting in a house would not be a practical option due to t…
Richard Collings
2015 Volume 70 Issue 4
Question Time
Question Time – Should there be a minimum age set for those requesting baptism?
QUESTION Should there be a minimum age set for those requesting baptism? ANSWER The only guide we have to assist us in responding to questions relating to spiritual things is the word of God. Such a s…
Richard Collings
2012 Volume 67 Issue 1
Question Time
Question Time – What advice can be offered to a couple who cannot have children?
QUESTION What advice can be offered to a couple who cannot have children? ANSWER This is not an easy question to answer for several reasons, not least of which is that I have no medical qualification…
Richard Collings
2017 Volume 72 Issue 4
Question Time
Question Time – What guidance does the scripture give regarding organ donation?
Question What guidance does the scripture give regarding organ donation? Answer This is an extremely complex question and one regarding which I have no medical knowledge that would qualify me to give …
Richard Collings
2013 Volume 68 Issue 3
Question Time
Question Time – What is meant by the phrase ‘the autonomy of an assembly’?
QUESTION What is meant by the phrase ‘the autonomy of an assembly’? ANSWER I am sure the questioner is well aware that the word ‘autonomy’ does not occur in the scriptures; although that, of itself, d…
Richard Collings
2016 Volume 71 Issue 3
Question Time
Question Time – What is scriptural marriage?
QUESTION What is scriptural marriage? ANSWER It may be that the questioner had in mind the marriage of believers and was seeking guidance as to what would constitute a scriptural ‘Christian’ marriage.…
Richard Collings
2012 Volume 67 Issue 2
Question Time
Question Time – What is the most effective way of teaching God’s people?
Question What is the most effective way of teaching God’s people? Answer In seeking to answer this question I assume that it relates to the teaching meetings convened for the whole assembly, and not t…
Richard Collings
2015 Volume 70 Issue 2
Question Time
Question Time – Why are people leaving assemblies and meeting elsewhere?
Question Why are people leaving assemblies and meeting elsewhere? Answer It has to be recognized that the situation described in the question does not apply everywhere, for in some countries, and poss…
Richard Collings
2014 Volume 69 Issue 4
Question Time
Question Time – Why do I find it hard to spend time in prayer?
Question Why do I find it hard to spend time in prayer? Answer It is reputed that Frances Jane Crosby wrote over 8000 hymns, one of which contains the verse, ‘O the pure delight of a single hour that …
Richard Collings
2011 Volume 66 Issue 1
Question Time
Question Time – Why do we worship on a Sunday and not on the seventh day?
QUESTION Why do we worship on a Sunday and not on the seventh day? ANSWER Although the question is phrased exactly as it was submitted, I assume that what the questioner had in mind was ‘why do we bre…
Richard Collings
2017 Volume 72 Issue 1
Question Time
Question Time – Will the church go through the great tribulation?
QUESTION Will the church go through the great tribulation? ANSWER Before offering an answer to this question there are a couple of points that need to be clarified. Firstly, I assume that when the que…
Richard Collings
2016 Volume 71 Issue 1
Question Time
Recognising Elders
The title of this article may create the impression that it will focus on the recognition given to those brethren who are already acknowledged as being elders, and who have served in that capacity for…
Richard Collings
2012 Volume 67 Issue 4
Contemporary Issues
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit
On the fourteenth day of the first month ‘at the going down of the sun’ the most momentous occurrence in history was enacted just outside the walls of Jerusalem. This unrepeatable event, the crucifixi…
Richard Collings
2018 Volume 73 Issue 3
Exposition
The Final Judgements
Introduction For details of the judgement of Israel during the tribulation please refer to Precious Seed, Volume 75 issue 3. In this current article, and the following one in the series ‘What does the…
Richard Collings
What Does the Bible Tell Us About the Future?
2021 Volume 76 Issue 4
Prophecy
The Final rebellion and the great white throne judgement
Introduction By the time the events recorded in Revelation chapter 20 verses 7-15 take place over 7000 years of history will have expired since Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden. Throughout those …
Richard Collings
2014 Volume 69 Issue 1
Contemporary Issues
The Great White Throne Judgements Rev. 20. 11-15
Introduction Just before beginning this article, I read about a man who the previous day had been sentenced to thirty years in prison for a particularly heinous crime. Due to his age, the probability …
Richard Collings
What Does the Bible Tell Us About the Future?
2022 Volume 77 Issue 1
Prophecy
The Messianic Psalms – Psalm 68
Overview Psalm 68 contains just part of a verse that enables us to consider it as being Messianic, ‘Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men’, v. 1…
Richard Collings
The Messianic Psalms
2018 Volume 73 Issue 4
Exposition
The Parable of the The Lost Coin – Luke 15
The background to the story Although representing just ten per cent of the total verses, this story is an integral component of Luke chapter 15 and therefore, to understand it correctly, it is necessa…
Richard Collings
Economic Parables
2022 Volume 77 Issue 4
Study
The Symbols of Headship
Introduction One of the characteristics of God is that He is orderly. It has ever been His purpose that there should be order throughout His creation that would be achieved by some having authority to…
Richard Collings
2014 Volume 69 Issue 3
Exposition
What Does the Bible Tell Us About the Future? – Part 2: ‘I Will Come Again’
Introduction Of the many events that occurred on the night in which our Saviour partook of His final Passover, there were two that occurred within the space of an hour or so. The first was a promise J…
Richard Collings
What Does the Bible Tell Us About the Future?
2019 Volume 74 Issue 1
Devotional
What Does the Bible Tell Us About the Future? – Part 3: The Judgement Seat of Christ
Introduction Whilst all believers should be longing for the coming of the Lord, many of us may not be so enthusiastically waiting for the judgement seat of Christ that immediately follows it. This eve…
Richard Collings
What Does the Bible Tell Us About the Future?
2019 Volume 74 Issue 2
Devotional
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