Paul says that those who practice bad doctrine should be "delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh" (1 Cor 5:5) as he did to Hymenaeus and Alexander (1 Tim 1:20).  I know several such individuals.  I need to know the DETAILS of HOW I am to deliver them to Satan.  As a follower of the "inspired" words of Paul, how do YOU PERSONALLY deliver people to Satan?  What technique do you use to destroy their flesh?  Like John Calvin did to Michael Severtus in Geneva maybe?  A slow burning at the stake?  Please give me the details of how I can effectively follow this well-established and "inspired" Christian doctrine.

Sincerely,
Burn, Baby, Burn

Dear Burn, Baby, Burn,

1^st Corinthians chapter five discusses the process of a church withdrawing from a Christian who is living a sinful life.  In 1 Cor 5:5, it says that the erring Christian should be delivered to Satan for the destruction of his flesh.  If that was the only verse we had, we would just have to scratch our heads and wonder what Paul was talking about… but that isn’t the only verse.  Just a few sentences down, Paul explains that how we deliver someone back to Satan is by not associating with them (1 Cor 5:9) and removing them from the congregation’s ranks (1 Cor 5:13).  The good company and support of the church is a blessing that Christians enjoy and really appreciate; by removing that blessing from an unrepentant brother, hopefully, it will wake him up and show him that he needs to change.

If the church doesn’t act, it will have to answer to God because it didn’t stand up for the truth.  Paul told the Corinthians that they were arrogant for not addressing their errant member (1 Cor 5:2), and he warned them that if they didn’t act, the church would eventually be rotted away by sin (1 Cor 5:6-7).  A church that won’t stand by the truth is bound to fall away from the Lord and cease to be a faithful church.  When a Christian is living in sin, they are responsible for their own behavior, but if the church doesn’t warn them, they have sinned as well (Ezek 3:18-19).

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).

If a pastor receives a salary from the church, should the congregation pay all of the bills that the pastor incurs (for instance: his rent or other bills)?

Sincerely, Paying the Bills

Dear Paying the Bills,

Both pastors and preachers (yes, there is a difference) can be financially supported by a congregation.Paul makes it very clear that a ‘worker is worthy of his hire’ (1 Tim 5:17-19).Unfortunately, we live in a world where religious leaders have thoroughly abused this blessing.Televangelists and ‘mega-church’ pastors are well known for their greed and multi-million dollar homes.This has left a sour taste in the mouth of many Americans when it comes to supporting preachers and pastors.

A congregation does not have to pay all of the bills of a preacher.However, it is a blessing to him and to them if they can.If he is working hard doing preaching and teaching, then being financially supported can free him up to continue to work even harder.

If a pastor or preacher has to work a secular job to pay the bills, it will take away from his time to spread the gospel and teach christians; it is more important that he provide for his family in such cases (1 Tim 5:8).Ultimately, it is his responsibility, not the congregation’s, to provide for his family.Even Paul worked as a tentmaker to pay the bills at times (Acts 18:3).A godly man will not overburden a congregation or squander the money God has blessed him with .

A congregation must take up their weekly collection (1 Cor 16:1-2), assess all of their various costs, and make a prayerful decision as to how much they can afford to support a preacher.Some congregations will be able to fully support a preacher; others may not be able to support one at all.In either case, it is acceptable according to what a congregation has (2 Cor 8:11-12).

Did the first century church celebrate special events that commemorated each person's journey of faith?  In several Christian denominations, there are events like that called 'sacraments'.  I am wondering specifically about the sacrament of marriage and how it fits into the first century church and also what the Bible says is proper practice for this type of event.

Sincerely, Practices Made Perfect

Dear Practices Made Perfect,

The Bible doesn’t have any sacraments – but it does teach there are some important events in a christian’s life.The term ‘sacrament’ is not a Biblical word - it is a Catholic one.The Catholic Encyclopedia describes ‘sacrament’ thusly:

Noun, a visible sign of an inward grace, esp. one of the solemn Christian rites considered to have been instituted by Jesus Christ to symbolize or confer grace: the sacraments of the Protestant churches are baptism and the Lord's Supper; the sacraments of the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches are baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, matrimony, penance, holy orders, and extreme unction. (Catholic Encyclopedia)

Using that definition, we could loosely say a sacrament is equivalent to an event that is commanded by God for every christian to partake in.There are some scheduled events like that in the Bible:

• Baptism to become a christian (Rom 6:4)
• weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7)
• weekly contribution (1 Cor 16:1)

These are the only things even remotely close to a ‘sacrament’ (although that still isn’t a Biblical term) ever seen in the New Testament church.Marriage wouldn’t be on that list because marriage is not required of every christian.

This does not mean marriage isn’t instituted by God.  It is - as early as Adam and Eve (Gen 2:24).God has never laid down specific rules for the marriage ceremony.  He has left those details up to individual cultures.God’s concern has always been about how we act within the sacred bonds of matrimony (Col 3:18-19).  He leaves the 'wedding feast' to our discretion.