Discipleship For Everyday Living, Christian Growth: Following Jesus Christ and Making Disciples of All Nations: Firm Foundations, the Gospel, God's Will, Evangelism, Missions, Teaching

By Mathew Backholer

Updated in 2020. Discipleship for Everyday Living is a dynamic biblical book for Christian growth to aid maturity in Christ Jesus, to help train and make strong believers with solid biblical foundations who reflect His image. The book covers such vital and essential subjects as: the Good News, help for Christians, discerning the voice of God, finding God’s direction, prayer, intercession, the Great Commission, supporting Christian workers, practical evangelism, teaching others knowledge, combating error, Calvary and the blood of Jesus Christ, seeking healing, laying on of hands, blessings, curses and deliverance and much more.

The book’s fifty easy-to-read chapters are split into six sections:
•Firm Foundations
•The Call of God
•World Mission
•Evangelism and Teaching
•Ministering in the Power of the Holy Spirit
•Ministry – Being Set Free and Delivered

Mathew Backholer is the co-founder of ByFaith Media (www.ByFaith.org) and films and co-presents ByFaith TV which airs on numerous Christian networks around the world. He is the author of a number of books including: Revival Fires and Awakenings, Global Revival, Revival Answers, How to Plan, Prepare and Successfully Complete Your Short-Term Mission and Christianity Rediscovered.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ByFaith Media
• Release date: Nov 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9781907066245

Mathew Backholer

Mathew Backholer is a revival historian, seasoned traveller, broadcaster, writer, author, researcher, editor and co-founder of ByFaith Media, who was born in the 1970s. In the late 1990s, Mathew studied at a Bible College in the UK, where he later worked as a staff member, carrying out various duties, including, teaching English (TEFL), itinerant preaching and leading teams of students in outreaches, including weeks of evangelism.As a world traveller, Mathew Backholer has visited more than forty countries and has travelled the length of Africa, from Cairo to the Cape, across South-East Asia from India to Vietnam and from Nepal to Russia via China and Mongolia and has survived the Trans-Siberian Railway. He has driven around Europe, visited North Africa six times, and has journeyed alone, with friends, as part of team and as a leader.Mathew now works with ByFaith Media researching and developing new books, writing for the ByFaith website (www.byfaith.org) and preparing for new TV projects with his brother Paul. Mathew has travelled to more than forty nations of the world carrying out research, executing missions and filming/presenting Christian TV and documentary projects.http://www.byfaith.org.https://twitter.com/byfaithmedia.https://instagram.com/byfaithmedia.https://www.facebook.com/ByfaithMedia.https://www.youtube.com/ByFaithmedia.https://www.pinterest.co.uk/byfaithmedia.

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1. The Good News

Jesus said, Repent and believe in the Gospel (Mark 1:15).

‘Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of diseases among the people’ (Matthew 4:23).

What is the Good News? It is Jesus Christ and the free Gospel of salvation He proclaimed. Without Jesus Christ and the cross of Calvary there would be no Christians. Jesus came to ‘seek and to save’ those who are lost (Luke 19:10), for ‘there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12). We have the Holy Bible that reveals to us the Good News of Jesus Christ that includes His life and teachings. We must read and apply the Holy Bible that will allow us to build firm footings in our Christian faith, which must begin on the Rock of Christ – our immovable foundation. As we walk with the Lord Jesus Christ we build up our bodies (which are temples of the Holy Spirit) in the most holy faith and we must proclaim the Good News via our lives and testimonies, of what Jesus Christ has done for us. The Good News is for everyone!

The Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

The Society for Missions to Africa and the East was founded in 1799, though renamed the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in 1812. The primary object of the Society can be seen from the opening paragraph of The Account that was written by John Venn, rector of Clapham. He was the chairman of the first Committee and spiritual advisor to the group of men who founded the society. He wrote: ‘Of all the blessings which God has bestowed upon mankind, the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the greatest. It is the sovereign remedy for all the evils of life, and the source of the most substantial and durable benefits.’¹

God so loved the world, that He gave His

Only begotten

Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not

Perish, but have

Everlasting

Life (John 3:16).²

The word ‘Gospel’ means ‘Good Tidings’ that comes from two Anglo-Saxon words: ‘god’ = good, and ‘spell’ = news. Joe E. Church wrote: ‘The Greek word, ‘evangelism,’ really means ‘good message,’ and is translated as Gospel in the New Testament. The Gospel is the good message entrusted to Christ’s followers to tell the world that salvation is to be had. It offers this salvation and shows how it is obtained.’³

The Gospel Is:

* The Gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24).

* The Gospel of God (Romans 1:1).

* The Gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16).

* The Gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

* The Gospel of your salvation (Ephesians 1:13).

* The Gospel of peace (Ephesians 6:15).

* My Gospel said the apostle Paul came through the revelation of Jesus Christ (Romans 2:16 and Galatians 1:12).

The heart and soul of evangelism is proclamation of the Gospel – John Wimber.

Four Great Facts Define the Gospel

Selwyn Hughes wrote: ‘Four great facts, said someone, define the Gospel: ‘A baby in a cradle, a Man upon the cross, a body in a tomb, a King upon a throne.’ Christ’s mission involved an incarnation, a death by crucifixion, a resurrection, and a final triumphant ascent to the eternal throne. No one but Christ could accomplish this, and the beginning of Christian faith is the acceptance of these facts.’⁴

Born in Sin

Missionary to Africa, Joe E. Church in relation to sin wrote: ‘Sin is universal. By nature we are born in sin. Sin is a natural bias to which each man is ever prone, even those who have been regenerated [converted – ‘born again,’ John 3:3, 7]. Sin is like a disease, an ‘infection of the nature,’ that must be cleansed, and even then brought daily when necessary for renewed cleansing (c.f. John 13:10). Sin is like a burden on a man’s back which must be loosed from him and buried. Christ alone was sinless.’⁵

Dead in Trespasses and Sins

Evangelist, W. P. Nicholson was preaching on the subject of ‘Eternal Life’ from John 5:12-13, ‘He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life….’ He said, We are all by nature dead in trespasses and sins. We may be rich or poor, good or bad, educated or ignorant, church members in good standing or non-church members, we may take the communion or preach and teach the Word of God, we may be generous and patriotic, but yet we all alike by nature, the children of wrath are dead in trespasses and sins. We were born that way and we must be ‘born again’ if we are to have eternal life.⁶

Salvation Scriptures

* ‘All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way and the Lord had laid on Him [Jesus] the iniquity of us all’ (Isaiah 53:6).

* ‘…That they are all under sin. As it is written: There is none righteous, no, not one…there is none who does good, no, not one ’ (Romans 3:9-10).

* ‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a propitiation by His blood, through faith…’ (Romans 3:23-25).

* ‘But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ (Romans 5:8).

* Jesus said, You must be born again (John 3:7).

* ‘Just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned’ (Romans 5:12).

* ‘As through one man’s [Adam’s] offences judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s [Jesus’] righteous act the free gift came to all men resulting in justification of life’ (Romans 5:18).

* ‘For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 6:23).

* ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life’ (John 3:16).

* ‘Christ died for your sins’ (1 Corinthians 15:3).

* ‘For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast’ (Ephesians 2:8-9).

* ‘For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time’ (1 Timothy 2:5-6).

* ‘He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life’ (1 John 5:12).

* ‘He who believes in Him [Jesus] is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God’ (John 3:18).

* ‘Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord’ (Acts 3:19).

* ‘…If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation’ (Romans 10:9-10).

* ‘If we confess our sins, He [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9).

2. A True Christian

‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a propitiation by His blood, through faith…’ (Romans 3:23-25).

Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God…. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again’ " (John 3:3, 7).

Who is a true Christian? The Holy Bible plainly declares that ‘whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved’ (Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13), but those who confess with their mouths are also called to profess by their changed lives; that is, ‘show forth fruits worthy of repentance’ (Matthew 3:8). Genuine disciples of Jesus Christ (true Christians) can be differentiated from those who come in sheep’s clothing, yet inwardly are ravenous wolves because ‘by their fruit you will know them,’ for a ‘good tree cannot bear bad fruit’ (Matthew 7:15-20). If we abide in God’s Word, we are His disciples and we shall know the truth and it will set us free (John 8:31-32).

Also, people shall know that we are Jesus’ disciples ‘if we have love for one another’ (John 13:34-35), and if we ‘walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him’ and increase in the knowledge of Him which qualifies us to be ‘partakers of the inheritance’ (Colossians 1:10-12). By the Word of God and His grace we are able to receive the inheritance, but only ‘those who are sanctified’ (Acts 20:32).

Jesus also said that not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter the Kingdom of heaven, even though they may have done many miraculous signs and wonders in His name, but He will declare, I never knew you; depart from Me you who practice lawlessness (Matthew 7:21-23, see Luke 6:46-49).

The travesty of the twenty-first century is that there are many people who attend church who genuinely believe they are saved and part of God’s family (John 1:12) yet they are not. They have had a counterfeit conversion – thus meaning that they are NOT converted at all, even though they sincerely believe they are saved, but tragically they are not.

Repentance, a renouncing and turning away from the works of darkness with faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of salvation. Are you saved – saved from what? From the wrath to come, the lusts of the flesh? Saved from selfishness, greed, impure thoughts, a deceitful heart – saved from what? Jesus said, Therefore by their fruits you will know them (Matthew 7:20), because without holiness no man shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:4), and we are commanded to be holy because He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). The righteous one is scarcely saved (1 Peter 4:18), and those who do not do the will of God are not part of Jesus’ family (Matthew 7:21 and Mark 3:35).

Jesus declared that we are justified and condemned by our words (Matthew 12:37), and our confession of faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9-10), is the crux of our faith. If the Lord will say to some, I never knew you – to those who even did miracles and cast out demons in His name (Matthew 7:21-23) can you really say you are saved? Jesus said, Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life and there are few who find it (Matthew 7:14). Jesus said, You must be born again (John 3:7).

Salvation, genuine conversion, is a Divine transaction as the Spirit of God comes and indwells and seals the believer (John 14:23, 27). Jesus said, He who hears My Word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment but has passed from death into life (John 5:24). A genuine convert is a ‘new creation’ (2 Corinthians 5:17-18), having been ‘reconciled’ to God through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:10). It is a passing from ‘death to life’ (John 5:24 and 1 John 3:14), from ‘darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God’ (Acts 26:18), and they now live for Jesus Christ in newness of life.

God knows who His chosen ones are and if we are not wearing the right clothes at the wedding feast we will be caught out and cast out (Matthew 22:11-14). We must accept and live by the Word of God and make Jesus not only our Saviour, but our Lord and Master. Have you? ‘Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? – Unless indeed you are disqualified’ (2 Corinthians 13:5).¹

In 2007, Andy Banton, General Secretary of The Open-Air Mission wrote: ‘In the work of evangelism today there is an awful lot of shallowness. It seems to be a common assumption that if people simply hear about Jesus and then make a commitment to Him, they are saved. The feeling a person experiences which bring them to that commitment are rarely asked about, let alone examined. So what does the Word of God say about what a person should experience in their coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ? In Acts 2:37 we are provided with the answer. Peter had been addressing a huge crowd in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. Luke records that as he spoke, many were ‘cut to the heart.’ What does this phrase mean? In the very depths of their beings, many of Peter’s hearers were convicted of their sin. They actually felt a sense of their moral dirtiness before a holy God. They were now aware of what God had already been aware of – their responsibility for the death of the Lord Jesus. This was something that was laid bare before their eyes. They not only saw it but felt a sense of horror of it. In fact the people now felt something of the enormity of their rejection of the One who had claimed to be the Messiah. Like a repentant King David they knew what it was to have hearts that were broken and contrite (Psalm 51:17).’²

Eight Categories of Deceived Christians

1. A Non-Christian: One who thinks that he or she is a Christian, yet have never put their faith in Jesus Christ’s atoning death for the forgiveness of their sins. At the end times, unrighteous people will follow the deceptions of the devil (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12).

2. A Premature Christian: One who does not live the life, who constantly, deliberately and habitually sins (John 14:15, 21, Hebrews 6:1-6 and Hebrews 10:26-31).

3. A Young Christian: One who is led astray. Simon (who had previously practised sorcery) wanted to buy the power of the impartation of the Holy Spirit. Peter denounced him and called him to repent as his heart was not right in the sight of God, being poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity (Acts 8:9-13, 18-23).

4. A Naïve Christian: One who has been taken captive by the devil to do his will (2 Timothy 2:26), or one who has been deceived by another (2 Timothy 3:1-6).

5. A Religious Christian: One who outwardly appears right before God, but in their heart they are looking for the praise and adoration of man. The Pharisees were full of hypocrisy and lawlessness (Matthew 23:1-7, 13-15, Matthew 23:23-33 and Luke 11:42-44).

6. A Traditional Christian: One who believes that their devotion to their tradition is more important than their relationship to God (Matthew 23:16-22 and Mark 7:6-13). Often doctrine comes before devotion.

7. An Apostate Christian: One who upon seeing lawlessness abound, allows their love for Christ to grow cold (Matthew 24:10-12 and 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

8. A Manipulated Christian: The elect who after seeing deceiving signs and wonders follow after a false Christ or false prophets (Matthew 24:23-26).³

A True Christian

Marie Monsen was a Norwegian missionary who arrived in China in 1901. She saw revival across China from 1927-1932, in every mission station she visited (of differing denominations) in numerous provinces. In November 1931, she arrived at Chenping, one of the mission stations of the Norwegian Lutheran Mission in Honan, and saw revival. In the second week she spoke at the Chenping annual three day conference. At the end of the day, as her custom was, she would take her stand at the door and as the people left, she pointedly asked, Are you saved? The next day, as the people left, with her incredible discernment, she asked, Are you still on the road to destruction?

Her co-worker wrote: ‘Many came to see her and confess their sins, but she sent them away, some as often as three to four times. They were not in a condition of real need. Pray that God’s Spirit may enlighten you concerning your sins, was the admonition they received to take away with them. She never tired of admonishing us, Do not gather unripe fruit. ’⁴

Laurence J. Crabb in Basic Principles of Biblical Counselling wrote: ‘The effect of sin is separation. Four distinct separations summarise the total catastrophe introduced by man’s wilful rebellion. First, man is separated from God – he has spiritual problems. Second, he is separated from his fellow – he has social / interpersonal problems. Third, he is separated from nature – he has ecological and physical problems. Fourth, he is separated from himself – he has psychological problems. Christians understand that the ultimate cause of every difficulty is sin, a decision to live life without regard for God’s authority.’⁵

Three-fold Way of Sin

Sin is rebellion and enmity (deep-seated ill will) against God and is demonstrated in a threefold way:

1. By act – e.g. stealing is an act of sin.

2. By attitude – e.g. hypocrisy is an attitude of sin.

3. By state – e.g. being unsaved is a state of sin.⁶

Sacrifice for Sin – Jesus Christ’s Death

In the Old Testament, since the days of Adam and Eve, God provided a remedy for sin. The blood of a slain animal made atonement to the one who truly repented and believed in its efficacy (belief in its power to work).

Joe E. Church wrote: ‘Sacrifice in its original sense implied the offering of an innocent animal for the guilt of the individual. Where this was accompanied by true repentance, and faith, God looked upon the shed blood and granted atonement in anticipation of the cross. True sacrifice as ordained by God in the Old Testament was the shadow of which Christ’s death was the reality.’⁷

Jesus is the Lamb of God who was slain before the foundation of the world (John 1:29 and Revelation 13:8), and in the fullness of time, came in the likeness of man (Jesus Christ) where He willingly died for the sins of the world and took the punishment that we deserved upon Him (see Isaiah 53). The New Testament reveals the New Covenant that supercedes the Old – a better covenant (see Hebrews 8). Belief in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and His shed blood for us is the final and only way of escape from the wages of sin which is death, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. With faith and belief in Jesus Christ must also come repentance and then a changed life. Salvation is by God’s grace, not something that can be bought or worked for, it is a gift of God (see Ephesians 2:8-9).

Repentance

Joe E. Church wrote: ‘True repentance means a radical change of attitude towards God, and therefore towards sin. It is a genuine sorrow for sin, accompanied by a change of heart. It is an attitude of mind, as well as an act. Remorse…alone is not real repentance.’⁸

For the Truly Repentant

* He has a sincere grief for sin and a sincere hatred of sin.

* He used to live in sin, now he longs to be delivered from it.

* He used to love sin, now he loathes it.

* He used to revel in sin, now he runs from it.

* He used to delight in sin, now he detests it.

The Real New Testament Message

Bible teacher, A. W. Tozer said, The Gospel message embraces a great deal more than an offer of free pardon. It is a message of pardon…but it is also a message of repentance. It is a message of atonement, but it is also a message of temperance and righteousness and godliness in this present world. It tells us that we must accept a Saviour, but it tells us also that we must deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. The Gospel message includes the idea of amendment, of separation from the world, of cross-carrying and loyalty to the Kingdom of God even unto death…. They are part and parcel of the total message which we are commissioned to declare. No man has authority to divide the truth and preach only a part of it. To do so is to weaken and render it without effect.

…To offer a sinner the gift of salvation based upon the work of Christ, while at the same time allowing him to retain the idea that the gift carries with it no moral implications, is to do him untold injury where it hurts him worst.⁹

Salvation – Concept of Wrong

Evangelist, W. P. Nicholson was preaching on the subject of ‘Salvation’ from Ephesians 2:8-9 ‘For by grace, you have been saved, through faith…not of works…’ He said, There is no difference of opinion as to the need of salvation. Every one believes in it and its necessity. We all have a consciousness of being wrong, whether we believe in a Divine revelation or not – whether we believe in God or not. Men everywhere know they are not living according to their own conceptions, let alone according to the conceptions contained in the Scriptures and therefore they have a sense of condemnation. This asserts itself in spite of their arguments and excuses.¹⁰

The Process of Salvation

* The Father (God) draws us (John 6:44).

* The Son (Jesus Christ) saves us (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19, Acts 4:12 and Romans 5:8).

* The Holy Spirit brings conviction of sin (John 16:7-11). It is the Holy Spirit that regenerates us, and seals us (John 3:3, 7, John 14:17 and 2 Timothy 2:19).

* We must respond to the call of ‘the Spirit and the Bride’ and ‘come’ (Revelation 22:17), in repentance (Matthew 3:2, 4:17). We are saved by grace, through faith and it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8).

* The Holy Spirit bears witness that we are children of God (John 1:12 and John 15:26).

* Our responsibility is to live holy lives (1 Peter 1:16), fully living for Christ (Romans 6:6 and Galatians 2:20); to declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvellous light (1 Peter 2:9). We must always be ready and prepared to witness for Jesus Christ (Proverbs 15:28 and 1 Peter 3:15).

The Three Stages of Salvation Are

1. We have been saved – Justification (forgiven of my sins – just as if I had not sinned).

2. We are being saved – Sanctification (being cleaned from sin, as sin is being put away).

3. We shall be saved – Glorification (in heaven).¹¹

Hell – Seek the Lord Now

W. P. Nicholson after stating all the descriptions of hell from the Holy Bible (lake of fire, bottomless pit, place of weeping, everlasting destruction etc.) said, "Hell begins where man’s day of grace ends here. There are so many who imagine they can be saved when they like and where. That just when they take the notion they can flee from the wrath to come and escape hell. That they can turn to the Lord God Almighty into a convenience, and make a servant of Him, so that He must be at their beck and call, and when they take the notion of seeking Him He must be found of them. This is the devil’s delusion to damn your soul. The Word says, ‘Seek ye the Lord while He may be found…call upon Him while He is near.’ You may seek Him and not find Him. You may call when He is not near…. You may reject Christ for the last time now, then your day of grace has come and gone for you for ever. That is where hell begins for you and every other soul who has sinned their day of grace away. God is under no obligation to save you. Salvation is of purest grace. It is of the Lord. You will never deserve it, or be able to buy it or merit it. If you are to be saved you must accept it as a poor, undeserving and hell-deserving sinner. Be warned unsaved one…don’t kill it by putting off accepting Christ any longer. But just now, where you are and as you are, trust Him with your soul and be saved for eternity. This is God’s day of grace."¹²

W. P. Nicholson wrote: ‘I am either saved or lost, a child of the devil or a child of God, on the road to heaven or on the road to hell. There is no middle ground, no neutral attitude. If we won’t receive salvation from the Lord, we will have to receive damnation.’¹³

3. Help for Christians

Jesus said, …Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds.... How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! (Luke 11:9-10, 13).

‘Your Word [the Holy Bible] is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path’ (Psalm 119:105).

The apostle Paul penned a description of a true Christian: ‘If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things become new’ (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Lord spoke to Paul that his witnessing to both Jews and Gentiles was to, ‘Open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me’ (Acts 26:18). This chapter consists of various quotes from believers that will help Christians and aid us in our spiritual growth, alongside checks and warnings. We are called to be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14), so let our light shine!

Six Short Rules for Young Christians

Brownlow North from the nineteenth century had six short rules for young Christians. They are:

1. Never neglect daily private prayer and when you pray, remember that God is present and that He hears your prayers (Hebrews 9:6).

2. Never neglect daily private Bible reading, and when you read, remember that God is speaking to you and that you are to believe and act upon what He says. I believe all backsliding begin with the neglect of these two rules (John 5:39).

3. Never let a day pass by without trying to do something for Jesus. Every night reflect on what Jesus has done for you and then ask yourself, what am I doing for Him? (Matthew 5:13-16).

4. If you are in doubt as to a thing being right or wrong,