The Grace Message with Dr. Andrew Farley

Why did God require the shedding of blood for forgiveness of sins? I told someone Jesus came to serve us, but they didn't get it. What are your thoughts on cessationism? Have the spiritual gifts stopped? I have been experiencing disappointment in my prayer life. Am I praying wrong?

What if Jesus, risen from the dead, were the only reason you behaved? How can we live differently knowing Christ is our life? A popular teaching has me worried that I might waste my life. What are your thoughts on finding purpose? How do we face strongholds or persistent struggles and temptations?

Did You Put the Veil Back Up? Discussion Questions for Hebrews 9: Hebrews 9 says the old covenant had barriers, veils, priests, repeated sacrifices, and limited access. Where do you still tend to live as though there is a barrier between you and God? What would change if you believed Christ has brought you all the way in? The priests entered the outer room continually, but the Holy of Holies was entered only once a year by the high priest. How does this contrast help you appreciate your daily, personal access to God through Jesus? Do you relate to God freely, or do you still feel like you need to "wait outside"? Verse 12 says Jesus entered the holy place "once for all" and obtained "eternal redemption." What does "once for all" do to the idea that you need to keep proving yourself, re-earning forgiveness, or getting spiritually "re-cleansed"? Verse 14 says the blood of Christ cleanses our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. What are some "dead works" believers today might still rely on to feel okay with God? How is serving God different when it comes from a cleansed conscience instead of a guilty one? Jesus is called the mediator of a new covenant. What does it mean to you that your relationship with God is not determined ("mediated") by your performance, your consistency, or your spiritual résumé but by Jesus Himself? Hebrews 9 connects forgiveness with blood, sacrifice, and covenant. Why is it important that forgiveness is not God "looking the other way," but God fully dealing with sin through Christ? How does that make forgiveness feel more secure? Where do you need to stop standing outside the veil and start living like someone who is always inside the Holy of Holies?

I'm a new believer and keep hearing mixed messages about our security in Christ. Can we lose our salvation or not? When we sin as believers, do we need to repent? My parents have a friend who is constantly having dreams about people dying. How should we look at those dreams?

Why does Paul mention "childbirth" in 1 Timothy 2? And how is that related to being "saved"? Is it okay for pastors to use artificial intelligence to write their sermons? What about as a resource? Were fallen angels having relations with women in Genesis 6? If so, are they still around?

Are You Living Under the Right Covenant? Discussion Questions for Hebrews 8: Hebrews 8 says Jesus mediates a "better covenant" based on "better promises." What are some of those promises of the new covenant? How would your enjoyment of God increase if you relaxed more in His promises? God says the New Covenant is "not like" the covenant made at Sinai. What are some ways Christians accidentally make the New Covenant sound exactly like the Old Covenant? What phrases have you heard that make grace sound conditional, fragile, or performance-based? God says, "I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts." What does this reveal about your new desires in Christ? Why is it so encouraging to know that God is not merely commanding from the outside but working from the inside? Many believers say, "I know what I should do, but I don't want to do it." How does Hebrews 8 challenge the idea that Christians are still fundamentally rebellious at heart? How can we be honest about temptation and struggle without denying our new heart and new identity? God says, "I will be their God, and they shall be My people." Why does belonging need to come before behavior? How does knowing you already belong change the way you respond to failure, growth, correction, or temptation? React to this statement: Every believer has direct relationship with God, not secondhand spirituality. How does this truth free us from comparing ourselves with "super Christians" or depending on religious elites to feel close to God? God says, "I will remember their sins no more." What is the difference between God forgetting information and God choosing never to deal with you according to your sins again? What sins, failures, or regrets do you still assume God is holding over you? Where do you most need to "come home" to New Covenant life today: once-for-all forgiveness, new desires, direct access to God, a secure identity, or freedom from Law-based living?

What is the conscience? What role does it play in our lives as believers? Does the conscience sometimes disagree with the Holy Spirit? A transgender person came forward to be saved, and now wants to be baptized soon in our church. Our pastor has no idea, so should I tell him? Did God create Jesus? What is the difference between being created and being the Father's only "begotten"?

Andrew, has God ever inspired you to pray for something in life or ministry and you struggled along the way? I heard a minister say you have to ask the Holy Spirit for access to God in prayer. Is that true? I have some major health issues, and some people tell me that I should just claim healing because of the finished work of Jesus. Am I free to spend money to seek medical advice?

Why settle for religion when Jesus brought something better? Discussion Questions for Hebrews 7-8: Why does it matter that Jesus became High Priest by God's oath, not merely by religious appointment or ancestry? What confidence do we gain from the fact that Jesus' priesthood is permanent and will never be replaced? Hebrews says Jesus "always lives to intercede" for us. What does that mean? And what does it not mean? How does Jesus being "holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners" make Him exactly the High Priest we need? Why is it significant that Jesus is "seated" at the right hand of God, instead of standing daily like the old priests? What is the difference between a priest serving in an earthly copy and Jesus serving in the true heavenly sanctuary? Hebrews 8:6 says Jesus has obtained a "more excellent ministry." What makes His ministry more excellent than the old covenant system? How do "better covenant" and "better promises" help us understand what we have in Christ that Israel never had under the Law?

What age are we in Heaven? What about babies? Why does God allow bad things (like the Holocaust) to happen? Can Christians eat whatever they want? Why or why not? What about our freedom from the Law: How does that play into the Christian life?

Are believers still sinful by nature? At salvation, what changed? Why do we still sin? Doesn't God appear evil in the book of Job? I think James 2 is just talking about works after you're saved. Why do you say the passage is about being justified (saved) by responding to God with faith?

How do we start conversations with strangers about salvation? Why do Christians say they "chose" to believe in Christ? Aren't we just "persuaded" by God? I don't know how to read well and often don't understand the Bible. Does God still hear me? How can I show someone they must get counseling to fix their marriage? I know someone who doesn't believe in God, because she wants to be a "woman of science." How can I reach her? What does it mean to be at peace with all men (Romans 12:18)? What is really happening in Matthew 24? Who is taken and who is left behind? *Previously aired