The fourth commandment clearly states to remember the Sabbath day and to keep it holy.  Why do so many churches not keep this command?

Sincerely,
For The Fourth

Dear For The Fourth,

The Sabbath was a holy day for the Jews, not for Christians.  The Old Testament has a myriad of laws that are no longer binding in the New Testament: animal sacrifice, clean and unclean foods, and various festivals… just to name a few.  2 Cor 3 is an entire chapter devoted to explaining how the Old Law has been surpassed by the New Law.  2 Cor 3:3 especially clarifies the issue when it states that our law is “not in tables of stone”, a direct reference to the Ten Commandments that were written on stone tablets.

Gal 3:24-25 makes it clear that the Old Law was a tutor to bring mankind to Christ, but now that Christ has come, we are no longer under that tutor.  The Sabbath is a part of that Old Law.  In the New Testament, christians meet on the first day of the week to worship, take the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7), and take up a collection (1 Cor 16:1-2).  In short: different covenants, different days.

The Old Testament law given by Moses was a covenant with the Jews (Deut 5:1-5).  The New Testament law given in Christ is for all of mankind (Acts 2:38-39).

Who changed the law?  God did.

When did it change?  When the church began.

Are we judging fallen angels?  Jesus said we will judge the angels.  Also, are we to be angels (I read we will be as angels)?

Sincerely,
Ready For Wings

Dear Ready For Wings,

Yes, christians will judge angels – the same way the Queen of the South judges spiritually lazy people.  The verse in question is 1 Cor 6:3.  We have to keep in mind that there are many ways to bring judgment on others.  In our case, we will bring judgment on others through our example.  God uses people’s examples to condemn others in similar circumstances.

1. The Queen of the South condemns those who won’t seek the truth (Matt 12:42).
2. The citizens of Nineveh will condemn those who won’t repent of their sins after hearing the gospel (Matt 12:42).
3. Christians will condemn those who have excuses for why they didn’t serve God (1 Cor 6:2).

Angels that denied God and went to serve Satan (Rev 12:9) will have no excuse for not having served God.  All christians will stand as a living example and condemnation against the angels that chose to deny God and turn to evil. I f we, having not seen God (Ex 33:20), can still serve Him… the angels who are ever before Him (Matt 18:10) are without excuse.

The Bible never says we will become angels when we get to heaven, but we will be like the angels in that we won’t marry (Matt 22:30).  That is the only similarity between the angels and us that the Bible ever gives us.  As far as we know, we will continue to be distinctly different creatures from them.

In Matthew 16:18, Jesus tells Peter He is going to build His church on him.  Why would Jesus build His church on a man?  I know, in a sense, it also had to do with Peter's confession in the previous verses, but Jesus specifically says He will build His church on the apostle Peter.  Why was Peter given a higher level of authority?

Sincerely,
Building Inspector

Dear Building Inspector,

Jesus didn’t build His church on Peter; He built it upon a much sturdier foundation – Peter’s confession.  This is one of those times where what Jesus said can be a little confusing to us English-speaking folks because there is a little bit of color that the Greek text gives that makes the text a little clearer.  In Matt 16:18, when Jesus tells Peter, “You are Peter”, He uses the word ‘petros’, which means ‘a small stone, boulder, a detached stone’.  Then Jesus says, “Upon this rock I will build my church”.  The word used for ‘rock’ is ‘petra’ in this case.  ‘Petra’ means ‘a rock ledge, cliff’; ‘petra’ is the word used for a massive and immovable rock that is attached to the earth.  Jesus is making a play on words in Matt 16:18.  In essence, He is saying that even though Peter is a rock, Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Son of God is an even sturdier foundation than Peter is.  Peter is a small rock, but faith in Jesus as God’s Son is a massive, living rock that you can build the church upon.

I was wondering if it is worth studying Scripture on a deeper level given my Bible is written in English.  From what I understand, the New Testament was originally written in Greek.  Since I am not a scholar or speak that language, I might not understand the fullest meaning behind the passages.  Is the Bible meant for average folks to study in their own native language?

Sincerely,
It’s All Greek To Me

Dear It’s All Greek To Me,

The Bible is definitely meant to be understood and studied by average folks!  There is quite a lot of chatter that the Bible has been mistranslated or that a translation leaves you unable to truly understand what the Bible writers intended – this is not true.  When Jesus quoted the Old Testament, He quoted from the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament.  The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, but Jesus felt comfortable quoting from the Greek language version.  This tells us that God has no problems with using translations to convey His wisdom to every culture and language on the planet.  As long as you have a good word-for-word translation (read “What’s The Best Translation” for details on what that means), you will be just fine.

Every day, vital documents are translated into other languages without mishap.  Peace treaties, corporate contracts, wills, trusts, and many other legal arrangements are made from one language to another.  Linguists are skilled professionals that are able to properly convey the same ideas from one language to another, and major Bible translators are especially circumspect and fastidious to properly translate from the original Greek and Hebrew.  Never fear, you have God’s Word just as much as the first-century christians did.

Are emotions in the heart or mind?  God reads the heart, but man says emotions are in the mind.  I am somewhat confused.

Sincerely,
The Thinker

Dear The Thinker,

The Bible uses the terms 'heart' and 'mind' as synonyms.  Mk 7:21 talks about thoughts proceeding from the heart, and 2 Pet 3:1 says that your mind is what thinks and remembers.  The term 'heart' is most often used when referring to the emotional aspects of the human thought process, and the word 'mind' is typically used to refer to the analytical thinking process... but that isn't always the case.  Truthfully, the two terms mean basically the same thing.