To Our AYP Readers,

We’d like to answer a question that we get repeatedly at this site… but never post.  From time to time, our website is solicited by advertisers.  Companies offer to pay us money in order to put advertisements on AskYourPreacher.  As you have probably noticed, there are zero ads on AYP.  The reason we politely decline every time is because of Bible principle.  AskYourPreacher is run by the Monroe Valley church of Christ in Monroe, WA.  As a part of our congregation’s work, we aren’t trying to make money or increase revenue, we are trying to give honest Bible answers to people… free of charge.  We have no ulterior motives or hidden agendas.  God has designed for a local congregation to get its financial support from its membership (1 Cor 16:1-2).  We don’t use fundraisers, advertisement revenues, telethons, pledge drives, sales, etc. to fund the work here in Monroe… we simply don’t believe that is right.
Our congregation seeks to offer the Good News of Jesus Christ free of charge to those who are searching for it.  We try and get people in touch with other local congregations in their area when possible (after all, it is the world-wide web!), so our readers can grow and be supported by faithful churches.  We aren’t interested in your money; we are interested in your souls.  We believe firmly in doing Bible things the Bible way – and that includes how we run our finances.  So, we promise that you will always find our website ad-free.

What do you think about people choosing television to be their church?  I have been running into preachers who are also saying that is their church.  What would you tell a person who says the television is their church and their preacher?

Sincerely,
Unplugged

Dear Unplugged,

Television is not a replacement for assembling with christians.  Heb 10:24-25 clearly says that we shouldn’t forsake the assembly of the saints.  The Bible pattern shows over and over that christians physically gathered together regularly.  The church has to get together to take the Lord’s Supper on Sundays (Acts 20:7).  The church has to gather to take up a collection (1 Cor 16:1-2).  The church has to gather together to encourage each other (Heb 10:24-25).  The church has to gather together to study God’s Word (1 Tim 4:13).  There are a plethora of verses that clearly state that the local church is a necessary and integral part of a christian lifestyle.  Television is no substitute for flesh-and-blood people of faith.

After reading your interesting replies to my questions, I was wondering how mainstream Christian denominations view each other in terms of the issue of salvation through Jesus.

Does your denomination view Christians who are Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Calvinists, Presbyterians, Eastern Orthodox, etc. as all attaining eternal salvation because of their faith in Jesus?  Do they all view your denomination and each other that way, or might Catholics, for example, view everyone else as losing salvation because they reject Catholicism, the sacraments, etc.?

I am aware that some Protestants refer to Catholicism as ‘Papism’, so would that mean that some Protestants view Catholics as "unsaved"?

Sincerely,
Just Wondering Jew

Dear Just Wondering Jew,

Each denomination views other denominations in an “equal but different” light – however, we here at AYP aren’t part of that denominational world.  Much of mainstream Judeo-Christian religious groups have given up on taking the Bible seriously and literally – a philosophical shift that God warned against (2 Tim 4:3).  The term ‘denomination’ comes from the idea that a church believes it is a subgroup of a larger religious body (i.e. Presbyterians, Lutherans, and Episcopalians are all subgroups of Protestantism). Lutherans worship and teach differently than Episcopalians, Catholics, Presbyterians, etc., but they all believe themselves to be christians – this is wrong.  Jesus said that there is only one path to heaven (Matt 7:14).  Denominationalism teaches that how you act and worship are matters of opinion, but Jesus said that how you act and worship are matters of truth (Jhn 4:24).  The only way to avoid denominationalism is to find a congregation that simply teaches what the Bible says – no creeds, no opinions, no personal agendas.  If we truly love Christ, we will follow His commandments (1 Jn 5:2).

Everything a church does (worship, membership, how they teach to be saved, how they spend their money, even their name) needs to have Bible verses backing them up (1 Tim 3:15).  A church needs to be able to explain the reasons for why they do what they do (1 Pet 3:15).
Our congregation here in Monroe goes by the name ‘Monroe Valley church of Christ’ because ‘church of Christ’ is a Biblical name for a congregation (Rom 16:16).  We worship by singing (Col 3:16), studying the Bible (1 Tim 4:13), praying (2 Thess 3:1), taking communion (only on Sundays – Acts 20:7), and taking up a collection (also only on Sundays – 1 Cor 16:1-2).  We teach that you must hear God’s Word (Rom 10:17), believe God’s Word (Jhn 3:16), repent of your sins (Mk 6:12), confess Jesus as your Savior (Lk 12:8), and be baptized to be saved (Acts 2:38, 1 Pet 3:21).  We do all these things because they are practices found in the Bible.  Denominationalism is prevalent in society today because it caters to tastes and opinions of the moment… but that doesn’t make it right.

My pastor says we are daughters of Judah.  Isn’t that Old Testament and not today?

Sincerely,
From A Different Family

Dear From A Different Family,

If he means that you are physically of the lineage of Judah – he is wrong.  Christians aren’t genetically Israelites.  Christians come from all walks of life and backgrounds (Col 3:11).  However, there is a sense in which all christians are children of Israel.  The church is spiritual Israel, and all christians are children of Abraham through faith (Rom 9:6-8).  Abraham was the father of all the faithful, a living example of what faith in God should look like (Rom 4:11-16).  When we live by faith, we are children of Abraham because we imitate his life (Rom 2:28-29).

How does the church deal with a pastor and minister having a sexual relationship that the members know about (factual, not gossip)?  It has the body of the church very disturbed.

Sincerely,
Shocked By Scandal

Dear Shocked By Scandal,

The church has the responsibility to stand up against illicit affairs, especially when it is found within the church’s leadership.  Paul warned the Ephesian church that there would come a time when their leadership would behave in an evil fashion (Acts 20:28-30) and that the only answer to an openly sinful leader was to stand up against him (1 Tim 5:19-20).  We should never be hasty about church discipline (1 Tim 5:22), but we should also never show partiality toward someone just because they are in a position of authority (1 Tim 5:21).

Those who upset the church and destroy the faith of others need to be stopped.  You have no other choice but to rebuke them and withdraw from those living wickedly (1 Cor 5:13).