Is it a sin to work on Sundays?  I think it may be Saturdays that are the 7th day of the week.  I am thinking that this is an older requirement before Jesus, but I am not sure.  As always, thanks for the help, and I hope you all are doing well!  God Bless!

Sincerely,
Hard Worker

Dear Hard Worker,

You are thinking of Saturdays, and it is an older requirement.  The Jews were not allowed to work on the Sabbath (Ex 20:10).  This rule was so strict that a man was once stoned for collecting firewood on Saturday (Num 15:32-36).  However, this was a Jewish command, not a Christian one.  In the New Testament, we are not required to keep the Sabbath holy (Col 2:16).  Christians do not have a particular day that they must abstain from work.  It is important that the church congregate on Sundays to take the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7), worship, and take up a collection (1 Cor 16:1-2).  We are warned against forsaking the assembly (Heb 10:24-25), but that doesn’t mean that it is a sin for christians to work on Sunday.  Sunday is the Lord's day (Rev 1:10), a day dedicated to worship, but it isn't necessary to forgo all physical labor.

     Why when Jesus told demons to come out of a man did the demons ask Jesus to allow them to go into swine?  And why did Jesus allow them to?  Jesus cast demons out of people, but they still went into someone else.

Sincerely,
Perplexed For The Pigs

Dear Perplexed For The Pigs,

Demon possession ended not long after the days of Christ because when Jesus cast demons out, they were cast out for good.  Jesus made it clear that one of His jobs was to bind the devil and take His strength away by casting out his demons (Matt 12:28-29).  When Jesus’ disciples had come back from their evangelism trips and related to Him that they had cast out many demons, Jesus told them that they were defeating Satan by getting rid of Satan’s demonic minions (Lk 10:17-18).  When Jesus and His disciples cast out demons, they did it permanently (Lk 8:30-33 – the demons’ request makes sense because it gave them one last chance to possess something) and bound Satan by their acts.  We no longer have to deal with such overt attacks by the devil because he has been bound by Christ’s sacrifice (Rev. 20:2).  Demon possession no longer exists; the devil must use subtler methods to deceive us now.

I was looking into your archives, and I noticed something about Jews keeping the Sabbath holy, not christians.  Can you explain that according to Scripture, since we are spiritual Israel?

Sincerely,
On Sabbatical

Dear On Sabbatical,

Christianity is the spiritual Israel (Gal 6:15-16).  Christianity has replaced Judaism and the Old Testament law.  Physical Israel was merely a shadow of that which was to come (Heb 10:1).  The law to obey the Sabbath was a part of the Old Testament law (Ex 20:8).  The Old Testament law has been replaced by a better covenant (Heb 8:4-7).  God tells us that when Christ died for our sins, He nailed the Old Law to the cross (Col 2:14).  Under the new law (the New Testament), we are told to no longer regard the Sabbath as holy (Col 2:16-17).  The things written in the Old Testament are a great example to christians (1 Cor 10:11), but they are no longer binding.  The Old Testament was a tutor to lead mankind to Christ, but now that Christ is here, we are no longer under that tutor (Gal 3:24-25).

[This question is a follow-up to “Crucifying The Old Man Pt. 2”]

I guess I didn't ask my question very well about the "died to sin" post.  So I will try to reiterate.

My preacher does believe that baptism is necessary for salvation.  He is a long-time preacher in the church of Christ.  He just doesn't believe that the "died to sin" in Romans 6 or the crucifixion we undergo is at baptism; he says our death is at repentance.  He draws a chart on the board and shows how repentance is our death; baptism is our burial.  He says you can't bury a living man, so you must kill him, and that is at repentance.  My understanding is that repentance is a change of direction, but not the crucifixion we participate in with Christ and when we die to sin by Him paying the price for our sins.  Where in the Bible is repentance represented as killing off the old man of sin?  Paul was penitent for three days prior to baptism.  Was he a "dead man" walking in need of a burial?  Or did he still need to "die with Christ"?  I'm concerned that if we say repentance is the death with Christ then we have minimized baptism to merely an act.

My preacher thinks I'm "quibbling" over this point, and he focuses on the fact that people didn't wait to be baptized; they "killed the old man", then buried him. But I have read much disagreement and feel there is something missing with what is being taught, so I could use some more help. Thanks for addressing my questions!

Sincerely,
To The Water!

Dear To The Water,

The problem we see with teaching that repentance is the point of death is that Rom 6:3 specifically says that we are baptized into Jesus’ death.  We have a hard time getting around the plain wording of the text.  The idea that repentance is when you die doesn’t have any sort of straightforward text to back it up.
Though it is good that this preacher still makes it clear that baptism is necessary for salvation (after all, using his logic, we would still need to be resurrected with Christ, which is what happens when we come out of the water – Rom 6:4), we believe he is complicating a subject that is actually quite simple.  There is no doubt that we need to repent as a precursor to baptism, but baptism is the point of death, burial, and resurrection with Christ, exactly as Rom 6:3-5 says.

I have a question regarding 1 Cor. 14:34.  Does this instruction for women pertain to the spiritual gifts of that time period, that now no longer exist, or does this scripture apply to women in today's congregations who desire to learn about God's Word?  Also, would you explain verse 1 Cor 14:36?  My Bible says: "Was it from you that the Word of God first went forth?  Or has it come to you only?"  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Corinthian Questioner

Dear Corinthian Questioner,

1 Cor 14:34 deals with the spiritual gifts of that time period – as well as all confusion in the public assembly (1 Cor 14:33).  In the public worship service (this does not include private home studies, children’s classes, etc.), women are to “keep silent”.  This refers specifically to speaking out in an authoritative way – such as leading prayer or preaching a sermon.  God specifically designated men to fulfill that role in the church assembly (1 Tim 2:11-12).  This isn’t politically correct, but it is what the Bible says on the subject.

As for 1 Cor 14:36, Paul is reminding the Corinthians that they need to heed these teachings because they had received the message of Christ – they hadn’t created that message.  Paul was reminding them to obey God’s message, not their own personal preferences (1 Cor 14:37).  There are times when God tells us to do things that we disagree with; that is when we have a choice – will we trust ourselves or will we trust our Maker?  We can either mold our lives to match the pattern our Creator has given us… or we can disregard His teachings and remain ignorant (1 Cor 14:38).