Many would say that it is a good thing when a marriage lasts for life. In fact, those who have remained married for a long time are sometimes interviewed and asked what their secret is. Indeed, many praise a long marriage. Few, however, confess that the marriage bond is always lifelong, meaning that even if […]
When studying a doctrine, it is good to start with the clearest passages and then to move on to the more difficult ones, and to interpret those more difficult ones in the light of the ones that are more clear. Or, to put it another way, if you read a passage and have difficulty determining […]
When a man and woman say their marriage vows, they enter a union that will be lifelong. How beautiful when they are both believers who confess this and rejoice knowing their marriage will be for life. This makes the occasion of their union one of great joy. With this article we begin a short series […]
In the previous two articles, I have begun to respond to a letter from Laurel Lotterman in which she asked the following questions: If our good works profit us nothing, then why do we believe that there will be different levels in heaven? What kind of levels are the levels of heaven? If heaven is […]
In the previous article, I began to respond to a letter from Laurel Lotterman in which she asked the following interesting questions: If our good works profit us nothing, then why do we believe that there will be different levels in heaven? What kind of levels are the levels of heaven? If heaven is perfect […]
Hi Rev. Laning, The question that I have is in regard to forgiveness. It seems that there are different ideas with respect to the part of repentance and its place in forgiveness. We know that we are called to forgive the brother as much as seventy times seven, but when do we properly forgive? (Luke […]
Reverend Laning, If our good works profit us nothing, then why do we believe that there will be different levels in heaven? What kind of levels are the levels of heaven? If heaven is perfect and we are perfectly happy, will the people in levels higher than us be happier, or more perfect? If all […]
Dear Rev. Laning What is the difference, if there is any at all, between one’s holding to false doctrine and one’s living in sin? Michael J. Vermeer Dear Michael A person who is holding to false doctrine is sinning by doing so. But such a person may or may not be impenitently walking in […]
Dear Rev. Laning I have a question that I have been thinking about for awhile. I’ve been reading through the Old Testament, and I’ve been bothered by the rampant polygamy that is recorded there. I don’t understand why God allowed the Old Testament men to have so many wives and concubines, and why He doesn’t […]
Rev. James Laning was born on February 15, 1963, to Gerrit and Betty Laning. The second of four children, he has one older brother and two younger sisters. He was born in Naperville, Illinois, located about an hour west of South Holland, and continued to live there throughout his childhood until he went away to […]