If a church has money, as in a treasury, but the church is the people… if a congregation experienced 100% turnover in members, whose money is it? Suppose a small group of twelve members had a treasury of $30,000 and owned a building.  If two families moved, but a new family moved into town about the same time, could they just inherit the church's treasury as their own?  How can a treasury of money be stored for generations and generations where the same members weren't there who gave to it in the first place?  It seems like we have created an idea that the local church is an organization in and of itself apart from the people that define it.  We then give money to the organization, like giving to the Rotary club, and it doesn't matter who the people are; the "club" still possesses the money.  Is this the biblical example?

Sincerely,
Membership Required

Dear Membership Required,

The local church is greater than the individuals that comprise it.  The local church is made up of the christians that meet in that particular location (like the saints that met in Corinth – 1 Cor 1:2 or the saints that met in Thessalonica – Php 1:1).  When a christian leaves that local area and attends elsewhere, they cease to be a member of that local congregation.  Over time, almost every congregation sees a complete (or near complete) turnover of its membership.  Christians have, and always will, be moving away because of jobs, life changes, retirement, etc.

This isn’t a problem because the church’s treasury doesn’t belong to the members – when new members come in, they don’t inherit anything because it belongs to the Lord, not us.  When churches take up a collection on the first day of the week (1 Cor 16:1-2), it is money that is collected from the christians and dedicated to the Lord’s work.

     You mentioned that the church of Christ is not a denominational church. Each congregation is supposed to use the Scriptures alone to be a guide. What if members of the congregation disagree with a particular doctrine or practice?  How are disagreements resolved when both parties use Scripture interpretation to support a point?  In Acts 15, there was a council set up to resolve a disagreement regarding circumcision.  The decision was binding on the universal church.  Do church of Christ congregations hold councils in compliance with the Acts 15 model?

Sincerely,
Make A Decision

Dear Make A Decision,

Acts 15 is a good pattern to follow when a congregation has questions or disagreements about a particular doctrine.  The only difference would be that the council in Acts 15 affected the entire universal church because the apostles were there, and the apostles had authority over all the church.  A local congregation is commended to their elders and to God – each group is autonomous (Acts 14:23), so any decision a congregation makes would affect them alone.  No congregation has the right to impose their decisions on another local church.

In Acts 15, we see how we are supposed to find Bible answers when discussing doctrinal issues. When we take Bible verses and combine them together to understand larger principles, we are doing exactly what God intends for us to do (Ps 119:160).  In Acts 15, we see that the apostles did that very thing.  When the issue came up regarding the circumcision of Gentiles, the apostles listened to the evidence (Acts 15:12), studied the Old Testament Scriptures (Acts 15:15-18), and came to a conclusion (Acts 15:19).  They looked for commands, approved examples, and then came to a necessary conclusion from the data.  That is exactly what every congregation should do.

     Rev 21:4 says that there will be no tears, no sorrow, and no crying in heaven.  How can this verse be true if a place like ever-burning hell exists?  Also in Rev 21:8, it says the lake of fire is the "second death".  Does that not imply that the people die?

In Matt 10:28, it says "destroy", not torment; I am confused because I have been taught on ever-burning hell my whole life, but I cannot ignore the Word of God.

Sincerely,
‘Hell’p

Dear ‘Hell’p,

There will be no pain in heaven because God will heal us.  Heaven is a place where we show up with tears, and God wipes them away (Rev 21:4).  There will be a great deal of pain that we bring with us to the feet of our Maker, but He is the Great Physician (Mk 2:17).  We here at AYP have no idea how God will heal every wound and sorrow in heaven, but we also don’t know how skilled doctors repair hearts and arteries.  If a surgeon on this earth can repair a body and make it whole, certainly God is capable of repairing our hearts and souls.

As far as hell being a place of eternal torment, the Bible says that it is. Mk 9:47-49 says that hell is a place where “the worm never dies and the fire is not quenched”.  Jesus also told the story of a rich man that died and went to torments (Lk 16:22-23).  In torments, the rich man was in constant, burning anguish without relief (Lk 16:24).  Abraham told the rich man that he would remain in anguish and that there was a great gulf eternally fixed between those in Paradise and those in torment (Lk 16:25-26).  Though some good brethren believe that hell is not an eternal location and that the wicked are destroyed at death, we don’t believe that this holds up to biblical scrutiny.  Hell is a place of death and destruction – spiritual death and spiritual destruction.  Hell is a place where people are forever destroyed and spiritually dead without hope of renewing their relationship with God.

     I'm a christian who hasn't smoked or drank alcohol in ten years and started back up about five months ago.  I've prayed and prayed.  I feel very condemned... what can I do?

Sincerely,
Off The Wagon

Dear Off The Wagon,

The only thing to do is to repent and get back to the same habits that kept you clean for ten years.  God tells us that if we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us (1 Jn 1:9).  Assuming that you have properly taken the steps to become a christian (read "Five Steps To Salvation" for details on what it takes to be saved), confession and repentance are all that is needed.  Pr 24:16 says that a righteous man may fall seven times, but he rises again.  Just get back up and keep trying.  Ten years is a wonderful success story.  You did it once; you can do it again.

     Hello, I think this is my fifth question to you guys.  I am a bit new to Christianity.  I feel really out of place in church and appreciate all the answers so far.  I have read the Bible but don't fully understand it; I'm workin’ on it.  I had an experience with God where He showed me that He was real, and I started reading directly after that.  This question revolves around will.  After my first experiences with God, I felt a dramatic change in my life.  I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit, and I wanted to follow the rules to a tee.  I wanted to do God's will and have His will done through me.  I would've done just about anything, and I could strongly sense God controlling and leading my life.  He was presenting opportunities and challenges and speaking to me on a very normal basis.  This feeling slowly dwindled, and I don't know how to get it back.  Furthermore, to be quite honest, I don't really WANT to get it back.  At the present, I don't want to get close to God by doing His will, studying, or even praying sometimes.  I would rather do my own will.  I know it's wrong.  I know our relationship with God is the only thing on this world that really matters, but for some reason, I just don't really feel like doing it.

But I would like to feel like doing it because I know I should.  That was the single greatest feeling I've ever experienced, but for some reason (I don't really know why), I just don't seem to want it anymore.

Any suggestions?

Sincerely,
Not In The Mood

Dear Not In The Mood,

Our closeness to God isn’t defined by how close we feel to Him or by any personal revelation we think we receive… the Scriptures are our compass, not our emotions.  When the Bible was perfectly completed, all prophecy and individual revelations were done away with (1 Cor 13:9-10).  Paul told Timothy that he was approved by God when he rightly handled the Word of Truth (2 Tim 2:15).  Col 1:5 says that we have hope through the Word of God, and Eph 1:13 says we are sealed with the promise of the Holy Spirit through the Gospel of salvation.

Many people wholeheartedly believe that they are pleasing to God but will be condemned on the Day of Judgment (Matt 7:22-23).  Feelings can be deceptive, but God’s Word is unchanging, unbiased, and able to rightly divide our lives and character (Heb 4:12).  If you want to know whether or not you are pleasing God, compare your life to the Scriptures.  “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Rom 10:17).”

It is very common for people to have an initial burst of enthusiasm when they first learn about Christ.  Matt 13:20-21 tells about the person that has an unrooted love of God – that is true for lots of folks.  The key for you is that you need to be different.  You need to put out the effort even when you don’t feel like it.  We are defined by what we do when it is hard, not when it is easy.

Part of your problem may be that you aren’t amongst a group of people that are feeding you the Word of God.  Many churches teach emotionalism but not Scripture, and that leaves you feeling defeated the first time things get difficult.  If you would like help finding a congregation near you that faithfully stands by God’s Word, feel free to e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org, and we will help you locate one.