Why didn't God save His holy covenant for the Christians?

Sincerely,
Feeling Cheated

Dear Feeling Cheated,

Any covenant made with God is a “holy” covenant.  The word ‘holy’ means ‘special or set apart’, and the word ‘covenant’ means ‘agreement or contract’.  Any agreement that God makes with anyone is special because God is special!  God has had numerous holy covenants.  He made one with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:16-17).  He made one with the earth when He set the rainbow in the sky (Gen 9:13-16).  He made one with Abraham when He promised to make Abraham into a mighty nation (Gen 15:18).  All of these are examples of holy covenants God has made over the centuries.

The last covenant God made was with Christians.  God made a promise to save us through Jesus Christ, and then He ratified that covenant with Jesus’ blood (Heb 13:20).  The Christian covenant is the greatest and most wonderful covenant God has ever made with mankind.

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.

I have been to many different congregations, and they all do things a little differently when they take up the collection. Some congregations sing a song while passing the plate, others pray and give thanks before the collection, and many do both those things. What elements are important?

Sincerely, Collecting My Thoughts

Dear Collecting My Thoughts,

The New Testament teaches that a collection should be taken on the first day of the week when the church gathers together (1 Cor 16:2). The only requirement for the congregation is that a collection be taken at that time. Technically, a congregation could put out a basket on Sunday, inform the congregation of its purpose, and leave it at that.

Having said that, most congregations try and use that time to count their blessings and remind each other of how God has blessed them. Using songs and prayers are ways to do that. It is up to the discretion of every individual congregation to best assess how to take up a collection from among the saints.

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).

I am a Christian and recently visited a local congregation where I noticed they were using different unleavened bread than is used at my home congregation.It was sort of homemade-looking, flaky and crusty, more like pie crust, and not the normal saltine-type of crackers. Is there some reason that they would use this other bread versus the crackers? Is it more like the original unleavened bread used by Christ and the apostles than the cracker style?

Sincerely, Store Bought

Dear Store Bought,

The only thing that matters is that the bread is unleavened.See this post for why the bread must be unleavened.The saltine-type crackers that you are used to are a mass produced, manufactured type of unleavened bread.The pie crust type was probably baked by a member of that congregation.It is doubtful that they baked it themselves for doctrinal reasons.Someone probably made it to be kind or frugal.Since Jesus didn’t have a Safeway or Costco to shop at, I’m sure the homemade type is closer to what He ate, but it really doesn’t matter.The only qualification is that the bread be without yeast.