Is it wrong to go to another church for Bible class if you are not getting anything out of your own Bible class?  The Bible class that I attend is very uplifting and encouraging.  I retain more and get a better understanding, and my husband enjoys it.

Sincerely,
Feeling Kinda Guilty

Dear Feeling Kinda Guilty,

There is nothing wrong with attending another congregation for Bible class as long as you are making sure to test what they are saying against the Bible (1 Jn 4:1) and making sure that wherever you attend is faithful to God's Word.  You might read our post, “Finding A Church”, on how to find a church using Bible principles.  That article might help you weigh the pros and cons of these two congregations.

     I had a preacher to explain to me that it is more important to pay your association dues than to help elderly people in need at the church.  Is this what tithing and offering is all about?  I looked in my Bible, but I can’t seem to locate what tithing and offering is and what GOD said it was for.  Help me, please.

Sincerely,
Writing The Check

Dear Writing The Check,

That preacher is wrong on so many accounts.  First of all, there are no such things as “association dues” in the Lord’s church.  In the New Testament, christians are supposed to give cheerfully and voluntarily (2 Cor 9:7).  There is no set amount that we are supposed to give; we are simply told to give as we have prospered every first day of the week (1 Cor 16:1-2).  Tithing (‘tithe’ means ‘ten percent’) is an Old Testament command that Jews had to follow, not a New Testament one for christians.  Jews were required to give ten percent, but christians are never given specifics.

As for saying that it is more important to pay your association dues than to help elderly people in need – that is the sort of thing Jesus said that a greedy, false teacher would say (Lk 20:47).

     I was married for twenty years, and we separated due to another female in church; I prayed that our marriage would not end and we would reconcile.  But that didn't happen; we were divorced, and he remarried after two weeks.  Can you tell me why my prayers were not answered?  And why they committed adultery, lied, and even stole from the church but still think that what they did was not wrong? Thank you.

Sincerely,
Devastated

Dear Devastated,

God desires for all of us to purify our hearts and minds and turn from sin, but He also gives us the freedom to choose for ourselves.  God has multiple principles that He must keep in balance at all times.  God hears prayers, but He also allows people to decide for themselves whether or not to be righteous or wicked.  If God simply forced people to become better people, that would remove our freedom of choice.  After all, He tells us that we reap what we sow in this life (Gal 6:7).

We cannot imagine the amount of pain you have been through.  It isn’t that God doesn’t hear prayers; it is that your husband chose to do something sinful.  God doesn’t like it (Mal 2:16), but as we said, God still respects our freewill.  As for how these two people can believe that what they did was okay… sadly, when we choose to do wicked things, it can sear our conscience (1 Tim 4:2), and people rationalize all sorts of sinful behavior because they “feel” it is right.  Every man believes he is right in his own eyes, but in the end, the Lord makes a just judgment (Pr 21:2).

     In my area, there are churches that have a Wednesday night service. Where is this in the Bible?  Acts 2:46 seems to suggest the early christians met everyday.  Does you congregation meet everyday?

Sincerely,
Dedicated

Dear Dedicated,

Our congregation doesn’t meet every day, but we do have classes throughout the week.  The Bible only mandates that the church meet on Sundays to take the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7) and make their contribution to the work of the church (1 Cor 16:1-2).  Don’t get us wrong; the church is also told to pray together (Acts 12:5), study together (Acts 2:42), and sing together (Col 3:16)… but we can do those things whenever we want.  The church is told to make a habit of meeting together (Heb 10:25), but every day isn’t a requirement.  Wednesday classes are one way that congregations attempt to keep that routine and habit of meeting.

     Why do christians celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December, and the Bible does not mention that day?  Why do we have to follow the Catholic church?  It was a day they used to celebrate the sun.

Sincerely,
Un-Sunny Disposition

Dear Un-Sunny Disposition,

Many people believe Christmas to be a spiritual holiday, but the Bible never commands us to celebrate Jesus’ birth on December 25^th (the truth is, no one knows when Jesus was born, but it was most likely in the spring or summer because the shepherds were out – Lk 2:15).  Christians are commanded to remember Jesus’ death every first day of the week (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 11:24-25)… we are never commanded to remember His birth on an annual basis.  Christmas is not a biblical holiday.  There is nothing wrong with celebrating it as a family holiday, but it is wrong to teach that there is a biblical foundation to it.

Christmas can be traced back to the Roman pagan holiday of Winter Solstice (also known as ‘Saturnalia’ because it was in worship of the god, Saturn).  As Catholicism tried to integrate itself into a pagan Roman world, Christmas was instituted by Pope Julius I on December 25^th as a way to assimilate the pagans into a Catholic worldview.  In short, Christmas has never been a truly biblical holiday; it is a manmade tradition with no bearings upon your salvation.