Can a person just ask for the gifts of the spirit or claim them?  How do you know if they are real?

Sincerely,
Trying To Be Gifted

Dear Trying To Be Gifted,

Real gifts of the Holy Spirit allowed people to perform real miracles.  In this context, a ‘miracle’ is defined as an act that is obviously supernatural in origin.  Examples of miracles are: raising people from the dead (Acts 9:40-41), healing leprosy (Lk 5:13), speaking in foreign languages without being taught (Acts 2:4-11), etc.  The gifts of the Holy Spirit were given to the apostles (Acts 2:1-4), and the apostles were able to pass on these gifts to others by laying their hands on them (Acts 8:18).  The apostles were the only ones with the ability to pass on the gifts.  Therefore, when the last person that the last living apostle laid hands on died… the gifts ceased to exist.  God intended for this to happen.

The miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit were needed to spread the Gospel in the beginning.  Miracles were used as a proof that what the disciples said was truly God’s Word (Acts 8:6).  Jesus’ miracles proved that His preaching was true (Acts 2:22).  However, now we have a written account of both the miracles and the teachings, and we believe through the Bible, which records those miracles (Jhn 20:30-31).  The apostle Paul warned that eventually the miracles would cease because we would have the perfect Word of God (1 Cor 13:8-10).  You cannot receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit any longer.  Now, the only gift that the Holy Spirit offers us is salvation – and that is more than sufficient.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

Why do we worship on Sunday (which is the first day of the week) instead of worshipping on the seventh day of the week (which is the Sabbath), a day that we must keep holy?

Sincerely,
Weekend Wonderer

Dear Weekend Wonderer,

The Sabbath was a holy day for the Jews, not for Christians.  The Old Testament has a myriad of laws that are no longer binding in the New Testament: animal sacrifice, clean and unclean foods, and various festivals… just to name a few.  2 Cor 3 is an entire chapter devoted to explaining how the Old Law has been surpassed by the New Law.  2 Cor 3:3 especially clarifies the issue when it states that our law is “not in tables of stone”, a direct reference to the Ten Commandments that were written on stone tablets.

Gal 3:24-25 makes it clear that the Old Law was a tutor to bring mankind to Christ, but now that Christ has come, we are no longer under that tutor.  The Sabbath is a part of that Old Law.  In the New Testament, christians meet on the first day of the week to worship and take the Lord’s Supper (Acts 20:7).  In short: different covenants, different days.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

My question regards the practice of tithing.  When my husband and I both worked, we gladly tithed 10% and more.  Now that we are down to one income, tithing 10% is not possible.  I invite anyone to look at my budget -- you will not find a clothing allowance, an entertainment allowance (although I do get the kids a happy meal when I go grocery shopping, mostly so I can unload and put away groceries in peace!).  You will not find a growing savings account or contributions to an investment plan.   The fact is, we've sacrificed a lot, so that I could stay at home with the kids while they are preschoolers.  Once they're both in school, we'll go back to being a two-income family.

My question, which I'm sure you've heard a million times, is should I tithe only what we are able?  I believe that God wants me to pay my bills.  I also don't think my church is going to pay my bills when I fall behind on them because I am tithing instead.

I'm looking for someone to give me an honest answer.  For what it's worth, as a single parent (before marriage), I did tithe 10% instead of paying my bills.  I fell behind on my bills.  I married my current husband with a mountain of debt which we are slowly emerging from.

Sincerely,
Ten Is Too Many

Dear Ten Is Too Many,

Tithing is an Old Testament commandment (Num 18:24), not a New Testament one.  Jews tithe; christians “lay by in store as we have prospered” (1 Cor 16:1-3).  God doesn’t give a specific percentage that christians should give back.  He commands that we prepare beforehand what we give (that’s the “lay by in store” part – 1 Cor 16:2).  He also commands that we be “cheerful givers” and that we give as we have “purposed in our hearts” (2 Cor 9:7).  Though tithing, which means ‘one tenth’, is a good rule of thumb for giving… it isn’t a command.

Any church that tells you that you have to give 10% is warping the Scriptures to increase your contribution.  You and your husband need to prepare beforehand what it is that you can cheerfully give.  Giving should be a sacrifice – but a voluntary one based off of thoughtful contemplation.