About tithing: is it right or wrong?  Gross or net?  10% or more?  Clear this up; I need help.  I put in my 10% or more from my check (the net amount).  Am I right or wrong?

Sincerely,
The Accountant

Dear The Accountant,

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.  We must prepare beforehand what we will 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.  Giving should be a sacrifice – but a voluntary one based off of thoughtful contemplation.

I believe that I'm being called to be a preacher's wife, and I've been praying about it, and I believe I know who it is.  It is the preacher's son.  He is two years older than me, but we are both really young.  Is it all right to get married when you’re young?

Sincerely,
Budding Love

Dear Budding Love,

There is nothing wrong with getting married at a young age, as long as it is done wisely and to the right person.  In fact, the Scriptures talk about rejoicing in the “wife of your youth” (Pr 5:18).  1 Cor 7:36-38 clearly points out that there is no set standard for when men and women can marry.  Once they both have reached maturity, the timing of marriage becomes an issue of wisdom.  There is no right age to marry.

What makes you so sure that Jesus is god, and that God is god? Krishna was born a thousand years prior from a virgin, and was the savior of his people.  What makes you disbelieve Thor, Zeus, Mithra and all the other gods that were invented prior to Yahweh?  I honestly want to know what you're answers are to these.  I'm not being sarcastic.

Sincerely,
Many Messiahs

Dear Many Messiahs,

The best way to show that Jesus is God is to show the uniqueness of the Bible because the Bible is what testifies to Jesus’ deity. The writers of the Bible admit that it is their hands that wrote it (Gal 6:11), but they also explain that God’s Spirit guided those hands (Eph 3:3-4). If that is true (and it is!), then the Bible would show signs that it was written by God and not man. Here are some simple reasons that the Bible is unique from every other book:

1. It is 100% scientifically accurate. Isa 40:22 mentions the earth being round. Job 36:27-28 explains the water-vapor cycle. These and other verses mention scientific principles that were not understood until centuries later.
2. It never contradicts itself. Over 40 different writers penned the pages of the Bible. They came from different walks of life and different eras, yet no one has ever found a contradiction from Genesis to Revelation.
3. It has been perfectly preserved throughout history. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint are copies of the Bible written 1,000 years apart, and yet, there is no difference in the text.
4. No book is as widely distributed as the Bible. Written in over 2,500 languages and sold by the billions, the Bible is the most published book on the planet. No other book comes even close.
5. The Bible is accurate in prophecies. The prophecies of Tyre (Eze 26:3-21) and Babylon (Isa 13:19-22, Isa 14:23) give specific, detailed accounts of the fall of those cities. Those prophecies were written many years before the events took place, and yet they came to pass exactly as the Bible foretold.

These are only short answers to the question ‘Why is the Bible unique?’, but they are a good start when discussing the issue. If you want a more detailed answer, I recommend Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell and Has God Spoken? by A.O. Schnabel as great reference material on this topic.

As for Thor, Zeus, etc., there simply isn’t any evidence to testify to their validity.  We believe in Jesus because of the proof, not because He is the most appealing myth.

5 minutes a day
5 days a week
1 New Testament in a year

There are 261 weekdays in a year, and there are 260 chapters in the New Testament. By reading one chapter, Monday through Friday, you will read the whole New Testament by the end of the year. The Daily Cup series is to help with that goal.

Happy Studying!

"The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup." -- Psalm 16:5

Click here for a pdf of the study schedule - CLICK HERE

In a previous post, you stated that we should interpret the Bible literally.   Even though it goes against modern science, you stated that God created the world in six literal days.  There was no reason to think the author of Genesis was not being literal when referring to the amount of time it took God to create the world.  My question is simple.  As a christian, how do I obey Christ in His command found in John 6:54?  John 6:54 says, “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”  How do I know when the Scriptures are being literal and when they are not being literal?

Sincerely,
Flummoxed

Dear Flummoxed,

Actually, in that post we said, “The Bible does say that the world was created in six literal days, and the internal context of the Book (emphasis added) doesn’t give us any reason to read those days as figurative.”  Not everything in the Bible is literal, but just like in normal life and conversation – we assume it is literal unless the context tells us otherwise.  The verse you mentioned, Jhn 6:54, is a perfect example of this because in the context, Jesus makes it clear that it is His words that they must ingest… not His physical body (Jhn 6:63).  Jesus obviously isn’t condoning cannibalism.  As in all literature and human interaction, context defines whether something is literal, metaphorical, etc.  When Jesus says He is the door (Jhn 10:9), context makes it clear that He is a figurative door to salvation… not a literal door with hinges.  When David said he “makes his bed to swim” with tears (Ps 6:6), we all understand him to be speaking figuratively about his sorrow… he isn’t addressing a supernatural event that allowed him to fill a room with tears while avoiding dehydration!  Context always rules the day.  Assume literal unless the context tells you otherwise.