Is it in God’s Word to pray for people who have died?

Sincerely,
Funereal Friend

Dear Funereal Friend,

1 Jn 5:16 talks about not praying for a sin that leads to death, but that doesn’t really deal with dead people; it pertains to people who are purposefully turning their backs on the Lord.  We are told not to request that God forgive people who aren’t seeking to live faithfully.

Your question deals with people that are already dead, and that is an entirely different issue.  Heb 9:27 says that people die and then face the judgment.  There is no room for someone’s fate to be changed once they die.  If your goal through prayer is to make it so someone who already died can go to heaven instead of hell, that won’t work.

Who is Abram?

Sincerely,
Name Nut

Dear Name Nut,

Abram is the same person as Abraham (1 Chr 1:27).  God changed Abram’s name to Abraham to make a point.  The name ‘Abram’ means ‘exalted father’, but when God called Abram and told him to leave his country and kinsmen, Abram had no children (Gen 15:2).  God promised Abram that he would have children and become the father of many nations (Gen 17:4).  So, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which means ‘father of a multitude’, as a promise to Abraham that these things would come to pass (Gen 17:5).

     What is a Christian Science Reading Room?  Does it have to do with Scientology?

Sincerely,
Looking At Libraries

Dear Looking At Libraries,

Christian Science is often confused with Scientology, but the two are different… both wrong, but different.  A Christian Science Reading Room is a building that the Christian Scientists maintain in varying communities, so people in that community can come and study their religion.

The Church of Christ, Scientist religion was founded in 1879 by a woman named Mary Baker Eddy.  Mrs. Eddy wrote a book called Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, and it became the centerpiece to her religious movement.  Christian Scientists are most famous for their stance that receiving medical care is a sin… utterly disregarding verses like 1 Tim 5:23.

The short summary is that Christian Scientists believe that all illnesses and diseases are a lie and can be healed by just thinking more faithfully.  This is a slight oversimplification, but it is the essence of their main doctrine.

Though this is the main problem with The Church of Christ, Scientist, other doctrinal errors include things like:

1. Teaching that the story of Adam and Eve is just an allegory.
2. Not partaking of the Lord’s Supper or teaching physical baptism for the remission of sins.
3. Teaching that it is impossible to understand the Bible without Mrs. Eddy’s book that we mentioned previously.
4. Teaching that heaven and hell aren’t physical places, just states of mind.

     We were having a discussion at work with regards to which day is the Sabbath day, and what we picked up on Google is that Saturday is the Sabbath day, and if so, we would really like to know why it is now on a Sunday and which verse in the Bible states that Saturday is the Sabbath day.  Thanks for your time in educating us in the Word of the Lord.

Sincerely,
Weekend Wonderer

Dear Weekend Wonderer,

Saturday is the Sabbath day… but Christians don’t have to worry about keeping the Sabbath.  The word ‘sabbath’ means ‘rest’.  The Sabbath day was a day that the nation of Israel was told to rest, stop working, and make holy to the Lord (Ex 31:15).  This rule was so strict that a man was once stoned for collecting firewood on Saturday (Num 15:32-36).  However, this was a Jewish command, not a Christian one.  The Sabbath was part of the Old Testament law – a law that Christians are no longer under (Gal 3:23-25).  We are specifically told not to let anyone bind the Sabbath on us (Col 2:16).  Christians worship Christ on the first day of the week – Sunday (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 16:1-2).  If you’d like more information on the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament, we have a video tutorial on the subject here.

     I have a close friend that is married to a preacher.  She was recently fired from her job, and then soon after, her husband lost his preaching job.  She was collecting unemployment benefits while her husband was looking for a new preaching job, but she wasn't really looking for a new job herself.  Now they have moved to a new state where her husband found a preaching job at a smaller congregation.  She is still collecting unemployment.  She recently told me that she has no desire to look for a job as long as she is getting "paid" not to work.  I have questioned her about this, but she really doesn't feel bad about it at all.  I think it is completely wrong, and I am sure the new church family they are a part of would not agree with such an attitude, but I bet they don't have a clue.  What should I do?

Sincerely,
Frustrated Friend

Dear Frustrated Friend,

You’ve done all that you can and ought to do.  Good brethren are squarely divided on collecting unemployment benefits.  One side says something like, “If someone can’t find work, that is one thing, but if you are purposely not even trying to find work, then you are sinning because of the teachings found in 2 Thess 3:10 and 1 Tim 5:8.”  That argument sounds really great until you hear the opposing point of view (Pr 18:17).

Those on the other side, like your friend, often say something like, “They call it unemployment benefits for a reason.  My employer and I paid for me to have these benefits.  The fact that the government steps in to extend or increase those benefits doesn’t change the fact that they were part of my employment benefits… no different than health insurance if I got sick or L & I if I got hurt on the job.”

The principle is that both sides have a compelling argument, and in such cases, the best thing to do is to make your point and then leave each individual to work out the issue for themselves (Php 2:12).  Come to your own conclusion on the matter until you have confidence (Rom 14:5), but don’t despise those who feel differently, and hopefully, they will do the same (Rom 14:10-13).