I have a friend who always wants to talk about religion but doesn't understand my beliefs. I am a Christian, and when I try to explain to her that the Bible is literally interpreted, she doesn't understand and replies with, "Well, that’s your and your church's interpretation of the Bible" and "The same literal verse can mean different things to different people."  What verses or explanation can I use as examples of how the Bible should be interpreted and why?  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Literally Puzzled

Dear Literally Puzzled,

What you are trying to do is prove to your friend that the Bible is God’s literal word and that God intends for it to be understood in a definite fashion.  Here are a couple of different ways to try and get this concept across to your friend:

1. Peter said that the Bible is not a matter of our own private interpretation (2 Pet 1:20-21).  When God spoke, He didn’t mean for His Words to be interpreted how we wished.  In fact, the apostle Paul condemns our own interpretation as “perverting” God’s Word (Gal 1:6-7).  There is a right and a wrong way to read the Scriptures.
2. If there is more than one correct way to interpret the Scriptures, it would be impossible to have unity.  Unity can only happen if we agree on the same standards.  If people each have their own personal interpretation of the Scriptures, there is no common standard to build unity upon.  God is not the author of confusion (1 Cor 14:33).  God commands us to have unity, and that there is only one faith (Eph 4:3-6).  Show your friend Ephesians chapter four and explain that unity cannot happen without a single standard.
3. God purposely made sure that every word of the Bible was exactly as He intended it to be (Matt 5:18).  Everything that the prophets wrote was directly from the mind of God (1 Cor 2:12-13).  If God put that much effort into preserving the accuracy and detail of the Bible, we cannot disregard that.  We must be as accurate in our reading of the Bible as God was in writing it.
4. Jesus believed there was a right and a wrong way to read the Bible.  He accused the Pharisees of disregarding God’s teachings (Matt 21:42).  He also told the Sadducees that they didn’t understand the Scriptures (Matt 22:29).  If Jesus says there is a right and a wrong way to view the Scriptures, then we must make sure we are rightly discerning God’s Word.

There is no guarantee any of these things will work with your friend, but we wish you the very best as you try and share the Gospel.  Hopefully, she will be willing to listen with an open and honest heart.

Our congregation is small, and we have a small Spanish group that meets in the rear of our building on Sundays and on Wednesday evenings.  On Sundays, the group from the back joins us for the invitation song, the taking of the Lord’s Supper, and the closing prayer.  We have an English prayer led and then a Spanish prayer for both the Lord’s Supper and the closing.  It sometimes gets confusing because we do not speak Spanish and vice-versa.  In doing so, many of our congregation are saying, “Amen” to the Spanish prayers; also, sometimes our preacher goes over with his lesson while the Spanish group is waiting patiently, listening to something they do not understand.  My question is: would this be a violation of 1 Corinthians 14:23-33?  It surely is very confusing.  Thank You.

Sincerely,
Bilingual Brouhaha

Dear Bilingual Brouhaha,

The whole point of 1 Corinthians 14 is that things should be done in an orderly fashion.  The Corinthians were shouting over each other instead of taking turns, and Paul said they should keep things to a maximum of two or three speakers who take turns (1 Cor 14:29).  Furthermore, the Corinthians were speaking in multiple languages (miraculously in their case) when no one could understand the language.  Paul condemned this behavior (1 Cor 14:28).  The answer to the problem was to:

1. Speak understandably with meaning and purpose, so that the people listening were able to comprehend what was being taught (1 Cor 14:7-11).
2. Speak one by one and take turns (1 Cor 14:29-32).
3. Let only the men speak (1 Cor 14:34-35).

Now let’s use that criteria to analyze your situation:

1. Everything that is said has meaning and purpose, so that a portion (either English-speaking or Spanish-speaking) of the congregation can comprehend the teaching.  There is a concern over the fact that not everyone can understand everything, but fundamentally, this criteria is being met.
2. From what you have said, all of the speakers are being diligent to take turns and not shout over each other.  There may be ways to improve the organization, but we would be hard-pressed to say that there is no organization already.  Any improvement would be an issue of fine-tuning, not removal of error.
3. You never address women speaking, so we will assume this is also being handled scripturally.

The criteria of the Scriptures is clear, and as long as your congregation remains diligent to stick to those ideals, it will be fine.  We will admit that having two languages in the same congregation can be a little unwieldy, but in truth, this wouldn’t be too uncommon of a circumstance in the first century church.  We would chalk this up to an opportunity to “bear with one another” and show patience as you try to overcome the struggles of the language barrier (Eph 4:2-3).

We have several ministers at our church and, of course, our pastor.  Ministers in our church are people who have told Pastor that God has placed a call into ministry on their lives.  Then they gain the title from the pastor.  I am not a minister in the church, but, however, I married one of those ministers last November.  My question is... I'm not sure what is right for me to do as a minister’s wife.  The women of the church are always telling me that I need to be in all these groups; I need to be a part of this ministry and that ministry.  At this time, the pastor’s wife even put my name down to be a team member for our woman's conference, and I was never even asked if I wanted to be a part; then they put me in the food ministry, and I have worked in food since I was 12; I'm now 44 and told myself when I left the last job that pertained to food that I'd never do it again; I really dislike it.  My other problem is that I'm a people pleaser; God is working on me.  I also feel like I have to do what everyone expects me to do so I don't disappoint them or my husband.  I think my husband thinks like they do.  He’s been in that church for about 9 years, and I've only been there almost 2.  I believe in serving others, and I want to, but I'd really like to be able to do what I enjoy and not what everyone else thinks I need to do.  I've never been a minister’s wife, and I would just like some advice outside of our church from a godly perspective. Thank you, and may God bless you.

Sincerely,
The Minister’s Wife

Dear The Minister’s Wife,

Well, if you are a people pleaser, you are probably not going to be pleased with the advice we give.  Your problem is that you are part of a congregation that doesn’t do things God’s way.  You are dissatisfied and unhappy because what you are involved in is man’s religion, not God’s church.  Whenever we do things our way instead of God’s, we are bound for confusion and strife (1 Cor 14:33).  Several things to consider:

1. Your congregation’s leadership structure is wrong.  There is not a single example of a church in the New Testament that is led by a pastor… all of the congregations had multiple pastors (also known as ‘elders’) working together to shepherd the flock (Acts 14:23, Acts 20:17).  Your congregation’s future is directed by the attitudes and opinions of a single man.  Your direction is guided by him, instead of being tempered by the wisdom of multiple men guided by God’s Word (1 Pet 5:2).  Read our article “Elders” for further details on what a pastor should be.
2. You mentioned all of these different “ministries” of your church, including a food ministry.  It is our experience that the word ‘ministry’ has become a replacement for the term ‘social program’.  Social programs are designed to help the physical needs and desires of a community.  The church is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim 3:15).  It is designed to uphold and further God’s Word, not every social program and community need.  Read our article “Blow Out The Candles” to understand why it is so important that we not stray from God’s work for His church.
3. Ministers are preachers.  They are men that have decided to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Thess 3:2).  It is not a title given to someone by a congregation’s pastor; it is a title earned by a lifestyle of teaching and preaching God’s Word to christians and unbelievers alike (1 Tim 4:6).  Paul was a minister because he served others and preached God’s Word to mankind (Col 1:23).  Being a minister’s wife is no different than being a plumber’s wife – no one expects a plumber’s wife to fix toilets.  These are manmade expectations being placed on you, not Biblical ones.

We recommend you start thinking about looking for a church that does things God’s way… a congregation without any attachment to manmade doctrines.  If you feel what we are saying is too harsh, we recommend that you ask your pastor about the things we have written and see how his answers match up.  You might also ask him some of the things mentioned in the article “Preacher Interrogation”.

Is it wrong to ask a preacher to leave a church?

Sincerely,
Exit This Way

Dear Exit This Way,

If this question is asked by someone at our congregation – absolutely not :).  Otherwise, we’ll try and give you the Bible answer.  A preacher is simply someone who is proclaiming the news of Christ.  A congregation has the right to support a preacher (1 Tim 5:18), but they do not have to.  There is no requirement within the Scriptures that a congregation have a full-time, or even part-time, preacher.  Preachers certainly are expedient; they are able to teach classes, preach sermons, help strengthen a congregation against false teaching, etc., but they are not necessary.

If a preacher is teaching false doctrine or doesn’t meet the requirements for a preacher laid out in the Bible, then there is no doubt that a congregation should tell the preacher to leave (2 Jn 1:10).  But even if a preacher just isn’t a good fit for a congregation, there is no reason that a congregation can’t simply decide to stop supporting him as a minister.  A congregation must make sure it is using wisdom in how it teaches and admonishes mankind (Col 1:28), and wisdom might dictate that they ask a preacher to step down.  As a Christian, he would have a right to stay with the congregation even though he no longer served as a preacher.  Any preacher who puts the gospel before himself should be willing to step down if it is what is best for the congregation and God’s people.

Some of my friends take missionary trips to third-world countries; when they talk about going, I don’t really know how to respond. I am not entirely certain about the Bible's stance on missionary trips as well as how to explain why I am not participating in them. Furthermore, is there a better term for those individuals who go to a country like China for three weeks and spread the Word as best they can? Pretty much, what is a standard missionary trip, and what does the Bible say about them?

Sincerely, Savvy Traveler

Dear Savvy Traveler,

Paul’s life was dedicated to the “mission field”, and yet Paul would roundly condemn what poses for “missionary work” in today’s religious communities. It is important to note that the term ‘missionary’ is never found in the Bible; it is a modern term, not a Biblical one. The word ‘missionary’ was originally used to refer to a preacher who went on a ‘mission or assignment’ to preach the gospel in foreign lands. This is completely Biblical. In this sense, Paul was an excellent missionary (but, again that is term coined by men, not the Bible). God Himself sent Paul on a mission to preach to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). Paul believed it was his solemn duty to bring the gospel to parts of the world that had not yet received it (Rom 15:20-21).

Unfortunately, when people talk about going on ‘mission trips’ today, they rarely are using the term to refer to evangelism. Today’s churches normally use the phrase ‘mission trip’ to refer to trips where people go and build houses, roads, etc. for the impoverished in third world countries.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with showing kindness to the less fortunate. God commends individual Christians for helping others who are in need (Jas 1:27). However, it is wrong for a congregation to take on the work that belongs to us as individuals. The church’s job is to evangelize and teach people, to feed their spiritual needs. Many, many churches have substituted spiritual work with physical work. This is wrong. Christ said that we will always have the poor with us, but spiritual matters are of greater importance (Matt 26:11). The religious world as a whole has stopped evangelizing and become focused on civic duties and community welfare. Many churches care more about soup kitchens and daycare programs than they do about bringing people the Word of God.

So if a church is on a mission to help people, by all means, they should go preach the Word. That is the need for which every soul really hungers and thirsts… and the need that God’s church is designed to satisfy.