I am a saved person and believe that Jesus died for my sins, and now I am saved and love my Lord.  I have been married to my husband for five years, and his children have treated me with hatred and contempt.  My husband is a christian, can lay on hands, and speak in tongues.  But instead of stopping their bad behavior, he lets them continue, and he says their behavior is my fault.  I do not smile or have joy, only if I'm in church.  My question is: can I commit suicide and still go to heaven?  Just can't take much more days of crying and hurt.

Sincerely,
Not A Wicked Stepmother

Dear Not A Wicked Stepmother,

Suicide is murder, self-murder, and is therefore very clearly a sin (Rev 21:8).  The only difference between suicide and murdering someone else is that you don’t get a chance to repent after suicide.  Suicide is a final decision and leaves no room for correction or for asking forgiveness.  Therefore, in most cases, it would be fair to say that suicide will send you to hell.  It is a willful act of disobedience against God without opportunity for repentance.

The only reason we here at AYP hesitate to say, “All people who commit suicide go to hell,” is because God never specifically makes that statement.  The final judgment belongs to God (Heb 12:23), but we certainly wouldn’t want to face that judgment with our own blood on our hands.

There is always a way of escape from the temptation to sin (1 Cor 10:13).  There are other options, and there is help.  If you'd like someone in your area to help you through your struggle and the conflicting messages you are receiving, we would be happy find a faithful congregation in your area to help bring you comfort and truth.  Please don't give up hope.

The Lord does provide relief through His Word (Acts 20:32).  From what you have said about speaking in tongues, laying on of hands, etc. – we fear that you may not be getting the full picture of what the Lord’s will is for His church and family (1 Tim 3:15).  We know of many preachers across the country ready and willing to help people like yourself come to a more complete understanding of the Lord’s ways.  E-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org if you would like a preacher from your area to contact you.

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

Hello.  My home church has a lot of problems going on, and my opinion is that most of them stem from my pastor.  Where in the Bible does it say that the church is supposed to support the pastor and his family?  And if so, does that mean we have to support him and his family in every part of their lives?

Sincerely,
Perplexed From The Pew

Dear Perplexed From The Pew,

The Bible does provide precedent for financially supporting those who preach and teach… but only if they are living godly lives and if the congregation desires to do so – it certainly isn’t a blank check for bad behavior.  Paul says that when a good man is preaching the gospel, we shouldn’t “muzzle the ox while it is threshing” (1 Cor 9:9-11), which is a fancy way of saying that when someone is doing the work, they ought to get paid for it.  After all, a worker is worth his hire (1 Tim 5:18).

Having said that, someone who is preaching needs to be actually doing good to be worth his hire.  Just like a bad employee – a congregation has every right to let a preacher go if he isn’t doing a good job.  We here at AYP don’t like the idea of being fired… but we also don’t like the idea of doing inferior work.

Another problem might be that your congregation is mixing up the roles of a pastor and a preacher.  Preachers preach and teach; pastors shepherd and lead the church.  Many churches today are having problems because they are giving preachers the authority to lead the church – when preachers only have the authority to teach.  Pastors must meet rigorous qualifications before they are allowed to lead the church (those qualifications are found in 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Tit 1:5-9).  Preachers are not required to meet those qualifications, but they also aren’t given the same level of authority.  Another difference between preachers and pastors is that pastors never serve alone.  There are no examples of a pastor leading a church – it is always pastors leading the church (read the article “One Too Few” for further details).  If a congregation’s leadership isn’t following the Bible’s patterns, that congregation will have major struggles.  This may or may not be the issue in your situation.

Suffice it to say, if this man is more of a harm than a help to the Lord’s work in your area – the congregation has every right to send him packing.

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

Is pyramidology part of or at least have anything to do with the occult?  I heard about this from an article I read about Charles Taze Russell, founder of the Bible Students, which later became known as the Jehovah's Witnesses.  He preached about Armageddon and the second coming of Christ.  In order to prove his point, he used pyramidology, also sometimes known as pyramid power.  This predicted a certain date for these events.

Sincerely,
Watching That Tower

Dear Watching That Tower,

Pyramidology is the study of pyramids to predict future events such as the return of Christ, world wars, the formation of modern Israel, etc.  This type of philosophy is scoffed at by scientists and theologians alike.  Many Jehovah’s Witnesses are unaware of their founder’s beliefs in pyramidology because it was renounced and scrubbed from their history books in 1928 by Joseph Rutherford, Charles Taze Russell’s successor… yet this sort of mixed-up philosophy is part of the mindset that created the Watchtower Society.

God says that the Bible contains all that we need to know about life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3).  The law of the Lord is perfect (Jas 1:25); we don’t need inscriptions on pyramids and hieroglyphic predictions to find the will of God.  The gospel is God’s power for our salvation (Rom 1:16).  Trust in the alignment of the pyramids is occult.