Why do the majority of Christian/Non-denominational/Protestant (Evangelicals especially) base a majority of what they talk about on Malachi 3:10?  Why is there such an importance placed on giving money to a church, TV program, or some charity?  When all we see are rich pastors walking around in $500 suits and a big gold and diamond encrusted ring? Okay, so I understand that God gave us what we have, and we are to share the fruits of our labor, but some pastors teach as if this is the ONLY thing in the Bible.  What about compassion for the penniless?  Oh, right, then they'll bring up the little old lady that gave her last two pennies and how magnanimous of her that she gave all she had, and we are only being asked to give 10%; how positively horrible of me.  Doesn't God know that I am broke?  Doesn't He understand that if I don't pay my rent, I end up homeless?  Doesn't He understand that you can't squeeze blood from a turnip?  Okay, so a miracle will happen?  But how am I supposed to believe that God *wants* me to be financially well-to-do?  I should think He has more pressing issues (like forgiving a sinful world) than whether or not I am going to have a financial breakthrough.  Am I wrong, because it seems to me Jesus never asked for money, neither did any of the twelve (with the exception of Judas and the thirty pieces of silver); in fact, weren't they poor and only had the clothes on their back and what they could carry with them?  Didn't Jesus tell them that this is how they were to live?

Sincerely,
Money Mad

Dear Money Mad,

You are absolutely 100% right.  A large portion of evangelists today teach what is called “the prosperity gospel”.  Mal 3:10 is one of their favorite verses because it is so easy to twist out of context.  Yes, God blesses us when we obey Him.  Yes, God blesses us when we contribute financially to His work… but those blessings aren’t always financial.

James tells us that the poor are often the most spiritually rich because they have learned to trust in God for their daily needs (Jas 2:5).  The church at Laodicea was financially wealthy, and that was their downfall because it led to pride and a sense of self-sufficiency (Rev 3:17).  The riches that really count are spiritual ones (Matt 6:19-21).  These preachers that tell people to “give so that they can get” are snake oil salesman.  They are of the same character as the Pharisees who “devoured widows’ houses” (Mk 12:40).

If this is the type of church that you are attending… there is a better and more godly way.  Yes, we should give of our finances… but that isn’t the totality of the Bible message – it isn’t even the majority of it.  We would be happy to help you get in touch with a faithful congregation in your area that teaches the truth.  After all, the church is supposed to be the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim 3:15) – not the pillar and ground of the financial world.  E-mail us (askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org) with what part of the world you live in, and we will do our best to get you in contact with a congregation in your area.

My question is about the "Rapture".  Although this word doesn't appear in the Bible, I have been reading about this event and would like to know more about it.  I was raised in a Bible Presbyterian church and now attend a United Methodist church.  My wife and I both believe the Premillennialist point of view.  1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 points this out very clearly.  We also believe this because Scripture is clear in 1 Thessalonian 5:9 that we as the church and christians are not appointed to wrath, so we will not be here during the tribulation.  One scripture that isn't clear is Daniel 12:10-12. The 'abomination of desolation' is clearly the anti-Christ, but I don't understand the daily sacrifice and the period of time referenced in the Bible as 1,290 days.  Please help us understand or clarify this passage of Scripture.

Sincerely,
Preferring Premillenialism

Dear Premillenialism,

There are quite a few problems with the premillenialist viewpoint.  ‘Premillenialism’ comes from ‘pre’ and ‘millenial’ because it teaches that Christ will come back before (pre) He sets up a 1,000-year reign (millennial) on Earth.  Premillenialism gained popularity in the 1800’s and has gained even further popularity because of the fiction series ‘Left Behind’.  Popular is not the same as correct.  1 Thess 4:15-17 simply addresses what will happen to christians when Christ returns – it never says anything about a tribulation event or a millennial kingdom reign.

The problem with premillenialism is that its teachings are based upon the idea that Christ failed to set up His kingdom on this earth.  Premillenialism teaches that when the Jews crucified Christ, they “rebuffed” His efforts to set up a millennial kingdom and that Jesus started the church as a temporary measure until He could return and set up His kingdom for real.

If this is true (and it isn’t), Jesus was lying when He said that His kingdom would be set up within the lifetime of those He was preaching to (Mk 9:1).  In fact, it would make Jesus a false prophet (Deu 18:20-22).  The truth is that Jesus has already set up His kingdom – the church is that kingdom (Col 1:13).  Jesus never planned on setting up a physical kingdom on this earth (Jhn 18:36).  Jesus’ kingdom is a spiritual kingdom that reigns forever within the hearts and lives of christians (Lk 17:20-21).  In fact, it was Jesus who rejected the Jews when they tried to make Him king of a physical kingdom (Jhn 6:15).  Premillenialism isn’t a doctrine from God; it contradicts Scripture.

I have been searching for God and trying to convince myself of Jesus being my savior, but I am still on my journey, I suppose.  I'm concerned that I'll die and be unforgiven before I can finally convince myself of God.  Perhaps this is something only God can help me with?  I'm a true skeptic, but I have been finding increasing evidence of there being a divine creator, God.  Should I pray to Him that He reveals Himself to me?  I guess my real question is... will He forgive me for not believing in Him when I am not convinced of Him?  I haven't read the Bible yet, and I've been increasingly convinced; should I read the Bible, all of it?  What if I don't read it before I die?  It does sort of feel like I am being pursued by God to believe in Him... I'm just not yet convinced...

(I used to be christian; then I rejected Christ because I realized I was 'believing' without actually believing.  I couldn't live as a hypocrite to myself, still can't today).

Like Plato talked about, I don't wish to be a blind man just happening to take the right path.  That is not knowledge.  If knowledge only truly comes from Him, when will He bless me with it, so I may know Him?  It's so backwards to me... doesn't the Bible say that He will only reveal Himself to me after I put faith in Him before I can convince myself of Him?  Sometimes I want to believe; it's just the doubt... like I said though, maybe it's just the journey I have to take without any help.  Would God put me on one of those journeys?  Will I be lost as long as I strive to be an intelligent and rational human being that bases belief on incidences in my life I'm convinced of?

There have been times where God has answered me... I'd say "God, if you do this for me, I will never doubt you again."  It would then happen, but I ended up brushing it off as coincidence afterward... this was when I was really young though.

Doubt has to be the hardest problem to deal with... maybe I just want reassurance that I'll find Him; it's only a matter of time, and if I don't find Him, He'll be understanding as long as I was given a reasonable amount of time in my life and enough evidence to convince me that He is there.  I don't like dogma...

I apologize for this being so long; I guess I just needed to get it out... I also want some guidance I guess.  Is there any Bible verses online that could help deal with this?  Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,
Unconvinced

Dear Unconvinced,

No, the Bible does not say that God will only reveal Himself to you once you have faith.  God reveals Himself to all of mankind through creation (Rom 1:20) and through His Word (Rom 10:17).  Many religious groups that profess to be christian teach the circular logic that you can’t know about God until you trust in Him – that is wrong.  We have an entire section of AskYourPreacher.org that is dedicated to EVIDENCES.  We here at AYP became christians because of the evidence.  These evidences are found in creation, the proven fulfilled prophecies of the Bible, the uniqueness of the Scriptures, and the proven accuracy of the Bible (we recommend you read “God Is Alive” and “Who Wrote The Bible”).

God will not forgive you for not believing in Him because He has made so much evidence available to prove His existence.  From mountains to molecules, this world screams of a Creator.  Seek the truth, and the truth will set you free (Jhn 8:32).  We too once doubted God’s existence, but after reading books like Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell, A Case For A Creator by Lee Strobel, and Has God Spoken? by A.O. Schnabel (too name a few) – it became very clear that there is real proof that God truly is alive.  After you’ve taken some time to read some of these articles and material, write us back at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org, and we would be happy to show you what it takes to become a christian and find a faithful church to be a part of.  The truth is out there for those (like yourself) seeking it (Matt 7:7).

Why is it that we are to believe the earth started 6,000 years ago?  It makes no sense.  I think that God created the universe six billion years ago, and at every stage, He has built and destroyed along the way.  The dinosaurs, for example, why couldn't He have gotten bored with them, killed them off, and one million years later came back and created something new on the earth?

My point is that Satan was already Satan before Adam and Eve, but before that he was an angel and had dominion over the earth.  Okay, well when?  When it was without shape or form?  Makes no sense.  I think God has created destroyed and recreated this earth many times over, and for the life of me, my very soul, I can not be blind to how old this earth is.  My faith is not in question; my question is with the church because I think God has done this since He created the universe.

I do not want to limit His power because I'm told by a human the earth is six–thousand-years-old, and I also think these half-human ape-looking bones that geologists find could be His first shot at making mankind, and things did not go so great, and He wiped them out.  I don't believe in earth evolution, but perhaps a God evolution where it took Him a while to create living, breathing, thinking beings… and I do not limit His power in thinking this.  This has to come from God Himself.  I think my question is for Him.

Sincerely,
REALLY Old Earth

Dear REALLY Old Earth,

There is one major problem with what you’ve asserted – it is the opposite of what the Bible says, and God wrote the Bible.  The idea of evolution, even theistic evolution, is contrary to Scriptures.  You listed a smorgasborg of contradictory theories: multiple destructions of the earth, ape-men existing before Adam & Eve, and God “learning” how to create.  It would take more faith than we here at AYP have to believe in the ideas that you are trying to have us swallow.  The Bible answer is much simpler.  God created the universe in six days (Gen 1:1-31).  When God created the universe, He created everything good – the first time (Gen 1:31).  If the theory of evolution is true, then God didn’t create everything good; He created it flawed, warped, and dysfunctional.

The Bible says that it is mankind that introduced the curse of sin into the world (Gen 3:17).  The world was perfect, without flaw and without defect.  Animals lived in harmony with man, and there was no bloodshed.  If evolution is true, not only did God not create a good world, Adam & Eve never existed!  Adam & Eve don’t exist in evolutionary models; they are replaced by a slow progression from amoeba to man.  We cannot accept both the Bible account of creation and the Darwinian theory of evolution – they are not compatible with each other.  Theistic evolution is an attempt to reconcile evolution with the Bible, but in truth, the two cannot be reconciled.  Science doesn’t disagree with the Bible – the two are in perfect harmony (visit AnswersinGenesis.org to see some of the impressive things scientists are finding out that prove the Bible to be true).  God says that the creation speaks of His existence (Rom 1:18-20).  It isn’t a battle between science and the Bible; it is a battle between evolutionists and preachers.  We here at AYP accept the Bible account of creation, and we prayerfully suggest you do the same.

Dear preacher, my name is (omitted), and I am a christian.  I trust your competence and knowing of the Scriptures, and I would like to ask you one very serious question.  At least, it is very serious for me.  I am married to a non-christian girl.  She does not want to know about God and about the Bible even though she respects my faith and is not against me attending the church meetings.  We are going to have a child soon, Lord willing.  She wants to baptize the child according to Russian Orthodox tradition in the Russian Orthodox church.  I tried to explain to her that this is not according to the Bible, that this is not what God wants, and that this is not true baptism because the child cannot even understand what is being done with him... she insists on baptizing the child, which, Lord willing, is to be born soon.  What should I do in this case as a christian?  Should I let her baptize the child if she really insists on this?  I do not know what to do... I want to save our family... I really want to save our family.

When she told me that she wanted to baptize the child in the Russian Orthodox church, I told her that if she really believes in this (in the necessity of baptism of infants) - I cannot stop her from doing this... I told her that if she wants to do this – I’d let her do this, but I will not do anything to support her.  I will not even take her with our car to the Russian Orthodox church for this purpose.

I also told her that when our child reaches certain age, I will take him to the children’s Bible classes at our congregation, so that he would be able to know about God from the very early years of his life.  She told me that she will not let me do this - if I do this, she will leave me and will take the child with her.  I am in great despair at this moment.  I want to save our family, but it seems that if she does not change her attitude - this will not be possible.

Sometimes, I want to tell her that if she really insists that she will not let me take the child to the children’s Bible classes - she should leave me right now.  Should we get divorced based on 1 Corinthians 7?  I never thought that she would become so hard-hearted.  She believes that the commandments of the Lord in the Bible make people limited and cause them not to enjoy their life in full.

I have made certain mistakes as a person not really experienced in marriage, but each time I asked her to forgive me, it seems like she forgave me.  In the same way, she made mistakes… which I forgave.  But I do not know what to do in this case.  I really need your help and your advice.

Sincerely,
Unorthodox Father

Dear Unorthodox Father,

Our heart really and truly goes out to you - you are obviously "unequally yoked" in spiritual matters (2 Cor 6:14).  There is no simple answer in this case, but there are some principles that you should consider.

1. You are the spiritual head of your household, and you have a responsibility to guide your family in God's ways (Eph 5:23).
2. This responsibility means that you must behave as Christ does towards His church - sacrificially and lovingly.  Being a husband means that you must pick your battles; be the first to forgive and the first to show kindness (Eph 5:28-29).  The spiritual direction of your child's life is a battle worth picking, but if you are constantly fighting over less important things... the issues that matter won't be treated with the gravity that is necessary.
3. If she does baptize the child in the Russian Orthodox church - it won't matter.  The child will get wet, but it won't affect its soul.  Take comfort in that.
4. You mentioned 1 Cor 7 - if she wants to leave, you can let her go (1 Cor 7:15), but that doesn't mean you should hope that she leaves.  As long as she wants to be married to you – even with your religious convictions – you need to try and make your marriage work (1 Cor 7:12).  As frustrated as you are right now, you never know if your good behavior might get her to see the light (1 Cor 7:16).

In short, hang in there.  Stand your ground on moral principles and give way on matters of opinion.  The Lord will bless you, and your child, in your faithfulness (Rom 8:28, 1 Cor 7:14).