What does the Bible mean when it mentions the saints judging angels?

Sincerely, Ruling The Skies

Dear Ruling The Skies,

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.If 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.

What is the difference between an elder and a deacon? Is a deacon just a mini elder or elder-in-training, or is it a different job completely?

Sincerely, Job Placement

Dear Job Placement,

Some deacons eventually become elders, but the roles are definitely different.Elders have the responsibility of watching out for the entire congregation (1 Pet 5:2).Elders are sometimes called ‘pastors’ because they shepherd the church like a pastor shepherds a flock of sheep (1 Pet 5:3).Elders will give an account to God for every soul in their congregation (Heb 13:17).The responsibility for the health of the congregation is upon their shoulders.

On the other hand, deacons only have the responsibility of being servants.The word ‘deacon’ means ‘servant’ in Greek.To be a deacon is to be a servant, plain and simple.Deacons serve the elders.The responsibilities of an elder are so great that they must delegate certain task or be overwhelmed.The idea of delegating responsibility is as old as Moses (Ex 18:13-18).Even the apostles recognized a time to delegate work, so that they could get everything done (Acts 6:1-4).Deacons are responsible for the assignments designated to them by the elders.

Having said all that, the qualifications to become a deacon (1 Tim 3:8-13) are only slightly less stringent than those to become an elder (1 Tim 3:1-7, Tit 1:6-9).If a man is qualified to be a deacon, there is a decent chance that he will someday be qualified to serve as an elder.This is not always true though.Some deacons do not make good elders, nor do all deacons desire the work of being an elder (1 Tim 3:1).

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).

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.