What do you think of taking holy communion in our homes on a daily basis?

Sincerely, Regular Remembrance

Dear Regular Remembrance,

Taking communion is a weekly thing – no more, no less.Christ told us that whenever we take the Lord’s Supper, we should do it in remembrance of Him (Lk 22:19), but He never said how often.It isn’t until the book of Acts that we see how often the church observed the Lord’s Supper.In Acts 20:7 we see that christians ‘broke the bread’ in remembrance of Christ on Sundays.That is when they did it, so that is when we do it.

Paul says that we are to take the Lord’s Supper when the church is gathered together (1 Cor 11:20).Taking the Lord’s Supper is an act of worship done by every congregation of the Lord each Sunday.When we take a look at all the teaching on the Lord’s Supper, we get the truth (Ps 119:160).Christ commands that we do it in remembrance of Him, the church gives us the example of doing it on the first day of the week, and Paul teaches that we should do it when we are assembled as a church.

On Judgment Day, will the faithful souls who died in Christ be somehow "exempt" from some part of the judgment, or will their sins be brought to light for everyone to know… and THEN be pardoned?

Sincerely, Seeking A Verdict

Dear Seeking A Verdict,

Several verses refer to the saints not being judged, but this doesn’t necessarily imply their sins won’t be made known.Jhn 3:18 and Lk 6:37 clearly state that christians will not be judged.‘Not judged’ means they won’t be condemned.God is judge of all mankind (Heb 12:23), so everyone will be brought before Him for judgment (Eccl 3:17).When you die, God will judge you (Heb 9:27).When the Scriptures say that christians won’t be judged, it is referring to the painful part of judgment – the punishment.Christians will be spared the punishment that all the wicked must endure (2 Pet 2:9).

The fact that christians won’t have to suffer the punishment for sins doesn’t mean that our sins won’t be made known.Paul tells Timothy that some men’s sins are evident before death, and some men’s sins are made known after (1 Tim 5:24-25).Eventually, everything will be revealed (Lk 8:17, Lk 12:2).Every human’s deeds and intentions, whether good or bad, will be brought to light (1 Cor 4:3-5).

If a pastor receives a salary from the church, should the congregation pay all of the bills that the pastor incurs (for instance: his rent or other bills)?

Sincerely, Paying the Bills

Dear Paying the Bills,

Both pastors and preachers (yes, there is a difference) can be financially supported by a congregation.Paul makes it very clear that a ‘worker is worthy of his hire’ (1 Tim 5:17-19).Unfortunately, we live in a world where religious leaders have thoroughly abused this blessing.Televangelists and ‘mega-church’ pastors are well known for their greed and multi-million dollar homes.This has left a sour taste in the mouth of many Americans when it comes to supporting preachers and pastors.

A congregation does not have to pay all of the bills of a preacher.However, it is a blessing to him and to them if they can.If he is working hard doing preaching and teaching, then being financially supported can free him up to continue to work even harder.

If a pastor or preacher has to work a secular job to pay the bills, it will take away from his time to spread the gospel and teach christians; it is more important that he provide for his family in such cases (1 Tim 5:8).Ultimately, it is his responsibility, not the congregation’s, to provide for his family.Even Paul worked as a tentmaker to pay the bills at times (Acts 18:3).A godly man will not overburden a congregation or squander the money God has blessed him with .

A congregation must take up their weekly collection (1 Cor 16:1-2), assess all of their various costs, and make a prayerful decision as to how much they can afford to support a preacher.Some congregations will be able to fully support a preacher; others may not be able to support one at all.In either case, it is acceptable according to what a congregation has (2 Cor 8:11-12).

Is capital punishment and/or war wrong? Is it wrong to fight someone when warranted?

Peter cut off the ear of the soldier when they were taking Jesus away, and there were all sorts of wars in the Old Testament.

I’m of the opinion that punching a bully in the nose is the correct course of action to take if you don’t want to be bullied anymore. However, then you have Jesus’ instructions to turn the other cheek…

Sincerely, Prepared for Battle

Dear Prepared for Battle,

Capital punishment and war are a separate issue from an individual’s authority to inflict pain on another.So we must deal with them separately.

God authorizes governments to punish its citizens as it deems fit.God has given governments the ‘sword of terror’ to bring wrath down upon evildoers (Rom 13:3-4).God allowed the government of Israel to stone evildoers (Lev 20:27) for various acts of wickedness against man and God.Stoning definitely would count as capital punishment!God also authorizes governments to go to war.Israel went to war (1 Sam 15:1-3), and God sent the Chaldeans to war against Israel (Hab 1:6).Furthermore, Roman soldiers asked John the Baptist what kind of life they should live, and John responded that they should be good soldiers and men (Lk 3:14).God has no problem with men going to war under the authority of a government.

Government authority and individual authority are different things though.God tells us that we aren’t to take vengeance upon ourselves (Rom 12:18-19), but instead, we are to do good to our enemies (Rom 12:20).We are to turn the other cheek (Matt 5:39) and go the extra mile with people (Matt 5:41).

Vengeance belongs to God and not to man.In fact, when Peter cut off the ear of the soldier, Christ rebuked him for the act (Jhn 18:10-11). Be very careful to do that which is ‘honorable in the sight of all men’ (Rom 12:17).If you or another person is in physical danger, you may defend yourself (i.e. a burglar breaking into your house), but to punch a bully preemptively is against what Christ taught.

Did the first century church celebrate special events that commemorated each person's journey of faith?  In several Christian denominations, there are events like that called 'sacraments'.  I am wondering specifically about the sacrament of marriage and how it fits into the first century church and also what the Bible says is proper practice for this type of event.

Sincerely, Practices Made Perfect

Dear Practices Made Perfect,

The Bible doesn’t have any sacraments – but it does teach there are some important events in a christian’s life.The term ‘sacrament’ is not a Biblical word - it is a Catholic one.The Catholic Encyclopedia describes ‘sacrament’ thusly:

Noun, a visible sign of an inward grace, esp. one of the solemn Christian rites considered to have been instituted by Jesus Christ to symbolize or confer grace: the sacraments of the Protestant churches are baptism and the Lord's Supper; the sacraments of the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches are baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, matrimony, penance, holy orders, and extreme unction. (Catholic Encyclopedia)

Using that definition, we could loosely say a sacrament is equivalent to an event that is commanded by God for every christian to partake in.There are some scheduled events like that in the Bible:

• Baptism to become a christian (Rom 6:4)
• weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7)
• weekly contribution (1 Cor 16:1)

These are the only things even remotely close to a ‘sacrament’ (although that still isn’t a Biblical term) ever seen in the New Testament church.Marriage wouldn’t be on that list because marriage is not required of every christian.

This does not mean marriage isn’t instituted by God.  It is - as early as Adam and Eve (Gen 2:24).God has never laid down specific rules for the marriage ceremony.  He has left those details up to individual cultures.God’s concern has always been about how we act within the sacred bonds of matrimony (Col 3:18-19).  He leaves the 'wedding feast' to our discretion.