How does Romans 2:6-16 jive with being saved by faith alone?

I have a question regarding some numbers in the book of Revelation. Firstly, in Chapter 4, where the 24 elders are believed to represent the raptured church, what’s the significance of the number 24? Why wouldn’t we be inclined to take this number literally, as you previously suggested for the two groups of 144,000 which appear in chapters 7 & 14?

Which brings me to my next question: if one of the groups are Jews, and the other represents the raptured Church, does that mean that 144,000 is the pre-determined number of Christians who will be saved & raptured before the Great Tribulation? In which case, aren’t there a lot more Christians in the world than that today? Does this mean that only a select portion of the Church will be taken in the rapture? I have read in a study Bible, that this 144,000 probably represents a group of believers who have remained in a ‘purposeful celibate state of separation unto God’, (hence the mention that they ‘have not defiled themselves with women’)…what does this mean? Is the 144,000 even referring to the Church at all or am I missing something? Please help! I believe in the rapture of the Church but this is really confusing to me…

The scriptures teach us that no one could keep the law but that the law was given to show Israel their sinfulness and their need for a Savior (Messiah/Jesus). Yet you say they were required to keep the law – is this not a contradiction?

I hear a lot from people with Reformation background that God disciplines you through hardship and suffering. They claim this in the name of their definition of Sovereignty. They claim that God is in control of everything so if you are suffering he actually designed it for you to suffer for his cause. This doesn’t really sit well with me, because I grew up knowing that God is a loving God, so I never associated suffering with him, and as his form of disciplining. I always associate suffering with the sinfulness of this world, not something orchestrated by God to teach some form of a lesson. Can you please share your thoughts on this?

Did Jesus ascend to heaven twice, once to sprinkle His blood on the altar and then again after spending 40 days with the crowds and teaching Paul what we needed to know?

When I read about the pain and suffering endured by past and present martyrs for the faith, especially those in the middle East suffering under ISIS, I wonder how they bear it. While praying I never have to suffer to that degree, I do wonder if the Lord in His great mercy grants some supernatural means to help them to rise above the physical pain. Or is their faith much stronger than that of most of us? Your thoughts, please.

This year our church leaders decided to alter our usual Sunday morning schedule by dropping Sunday School and adding a second Easter service. Between the two services there was an Easter egg hunt in the hope that the activity would draw more of the community’s unchurched who have children. I explained to my Sunday School teacher about the pagan origins of Easter (Ishtar, eggs, rabbits and how the date is determined). In response he quoted Colossians 2:16-17. I told him that was an invalid argument as the previously mentioned items did not fit the definition of Colossians 2:17. Am I off base?

I tend to think the theory that Nephilim were a result of the fallen angels mating with human women makes sense. Yet, I am still confused by the fact that Jesus Himself said that angels do not marry, nor are they given in marriage in Matt 22:30 while Genesis 6:2 explicitly states that the “sons of God” married the daughters of women. And the fact that even if they did possess a human male for this process rather than just manifesting themselves as a human, how could the angelic part of the Union be passed on to offspring if life reproduces after its own kind according to Genesis and yet the Angels don’t reproduce?

In a question on law and grace, you made this statement: “During the dispensation of Law, believers had to give evidence of their faith by keeping the Law. During the Dispensation of Grace, also known as the Church Age, this evidence is not required.”

My question is: that James speaks of our faith as dead without works. To me this means that our faith is also evidenced by our works – not that our works save us, our salvation as in the OT is also based on faith. But in the NT, if we do not have works that evidence our faith as well, then that faith is dead. Not understanding how you can say this based on James teachings.

Re: Interesting Facts About Easter. This was confusing to me. Your answer says it is not related to Passover in the first few sentences, but in the last sentence states it is 3 days after Passover. Which one is it? I always thought it was 3 days after Passover that Jesus was resurrected. Are you simply saying Easter itself is separate from Jesus’s resurrection and is simply the spring equinox?