The other day, I asked myself, “Was a Gentile in Moses’ day able to become one of God’s people?”  I was (for some reason) told the opposite.

Sincerely,
A Change In Mind

Dear A Change In Mind,

People were able to convert to Judaism if they wanted to.  Ex 12:48 specifically says that if a man wanted to participate in the holy offerings of the Jewish nation and eat the Passover, he could be circumcised.  When he did that, he would become “as one born in the land”.  God did allow for people to convert to Judaism.  Probably the most famous convert to Judaism was Ruth.  Ruth was originally from the nation of Moab (Ruth 1:4), but eventually, she converted and chose to serve Jehovah (Ruth 1:16).

     Where in the bible does it tell of the devil and his demons being fallen angels?

Sincerely,
Scripture Please

Dear Scripture Please,

The Bible doesn’t give us much information on the devil’s origins, and since the Bible is vague, we must also be vague.  The Bible says that certain angels sinned against God and were cast down and reserved for judgment (2 Pet 2:4).  The Bible never specifically mentions the devil as part of that crew of angels, but this may refer to him as well.  The Bible says that the devil is the father of lies and murder (Jhn 8:44).  The devil was cast out of heaven by God because the devil rebelled against God and sinned.  Beyond that, we have very little information.  We know that Jesus bound Satan when Jesus came to earth (Mk 3:22-27), and Jesus’ sacrifice cast him out of heaven (Rev 12:7-11).  We also know that the devil will eventually be cast into the fires of hell with his angels (Matt 25:41).

    I have been married to my wife for ten years, and over the last five, it’s been very challenging.  I love my wife but am not in love with her, and I actually don’t think I ever was.  Reflecting back, I rushed into it and did it through obligation without asking God for guidance and direction.  I made a vow to God when I got married but truly feel divorce may be the best option for both of us as I feel I’m living the life of a lie.  I need to get out of my comfort zone, but is divorce the right option?

Sincerely,
Unhappy Husband

Dear Unhappy Husband,

There are many choices that we make in life that we don’t fully comprehend, but that doesn’t remove the consequences of those choices.  If you are driving down the highway and fail to note the speed limit… ignorance won’t stop the police officer from giving you a ticket.  When mankind makes choices in ignorance, those choices still affect us (1 Pet 1:14).  A marriage is a marriage – there are no exceptions.  The only reason that God allows divorce is when sexual immorality occurs (Matt 19:9).  You and your wife may not feel love toward one another, but that doesn’t mean you can’t show love toward her, and it also doesn’t mean you have the right to divorce her because you don’t get along.  You feel divorce would be the best option, but God says it isn’t – it is time to trust God and get out of your comfort zone by seeking marriage counseling and working on your marriage instead of abandoning it.

     My wife and I are members of a church of Christ, the kind that has a fellowship hall, youth minister (and stuff like that), but no instrumental music (or anything like that).  My point is, my wife and I have become a little uncomfortable with this zeal and not being able to find the authority for these things.  We went to a very conservative type of church of Christ, like your congregation (from what I gather from y'all’s answers). There is more to it than that but, my question is: what can we expect with a change from a "liberal" type of church of Christ to a "conservative" church of Christ?

Sincerely,
Motivated To Move

Dear Motivated To Move,

Oftentimes, the worship service at liberal congregations doesn’t seem all that different from the worship service at conservative ones, but the principles behind why they each do what they do is vastly different.

The fundamental difference between the more conservative congregations and the more liberal ones is how closely they adhere to the Bible pattern.  In a conservative congregation, you will see the focus of the church being upon preaching the truth to the lost, teaching the saved, and carrying for needy saints – that’s it.  A conservative congregation believes that the church is sufficient to do God’s work, and they shouldn’t delegate that work out to another organization like a missionary society.  Conservative congregations support preachers directly, and they send funds directly to care for other needy christians… just like the Bible pattern.  This is why conservative congregations are sometimes referred to as ‘non-institutional’.  They don’t believe any other institution should take the place of the church – not a missionary society, not a federation of congregations pooling their funds, not a group of preachers controlling the direction of multiple churches.

The other thing that you will see is that a conservative congregation believes that there is a difference between individual responsibilities and congregational responsibilities.  Individuals have the responsibility to spend time together and socialize with other christians.  Individuals have the responsibility to do good to all mankind and be involved in their community as helpers of the poor and friends to strangers (Gal 6:10).  The church has the responsibility to be the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim 3:15).  You won’t see the church using its resources (including its building) for purely social activities such as potlucks – it is our responsibility as individuals to show hospitality (Heb 13:2).  You also won’t see the church getting caught up in secular charity activities like food pantries for the poor or community activism – it is our responsibility as individuals to effect change in our communities and help our neighbors. When we blur the lines between what the church should be doing and what individual christians should be doing, we get into all sorts of trouble.  Conservative congregations do their best to keep those lines as distinct as the Bible does.

In short, a conservative congregation will always show you Bible authority for what it does.  We speak where the Bible speaks and are silent where the Bible is silent (Rev 22:18-19).

     I'm wondering if it would be okay to have fairy statues in my garden?  I'm aware that we shouldn't have angels or Christ statues because we are asked not to make images of anything above or on Earth idols.  I don't want to go against God's Word.

Sincerely,
Green Thumb

Dear Green Thumb,

There is nothing wrong with having fairy statues, flamingos, gnomes, etc. in your garden.  As you said, God doesn’t want us to make idols (Rom 1:22-23), but you aren’t worshipping your fairy statues – they are simply art.  It is the same as reading science fiction or children pretending to be mythical creatures.  The error only comes in when we stop giving God reverence or when we make images for worship.