I tithe, but at the end of the service, should the leader go on and on, scripture after scripture, telling you that you are cursed with a curse if you don’t give tithes and offerings? Badgering people about this I feel is wrong, and I have an uneasy feeling about this the more I hear it. We are supposed to give out of love and with a cheerful heart. Is it wrong to hold this offering over the congregation’s head and to use Scripture to justify it? What happens if I don’t have the money to tithe? Am I going to be not as blessed as the rest of the congregation? I do believe God wants us to be blessed and prosper, but what about the people who are struggling and not prospering? Does that mean their faith is weak? I’m really troubled by doctrines and people’s perceptions of how we are supposed to be overflowing with prosperity and people are supposed to see that we are more prosperous than the worldly/secular people. Does God really want our bank accounts full when all of it is going to perish anyways? I would like to know if prosperity is truly what Jesus taught and what He emphasized.

Sincerely, Too Much Money Talk

Dear Too Much Money Talk,

Christians don’t tithe; Jews do. Christians also don’t have any guarantees of financial prosperity. Faithfulness doesn’t guarantee financial success. If that was the case, why did Paul end up in prison (Acts 16:37)? Why did Jesus say that He didn’t have anywhere to lay His head (Matt 8:20)? The most faithful people often suffer the most for the gospel. In fact, Christians are guaranteed to suffer for Christ’s church (Acts 14:22). If anything, prosperity is often a hindrance to faithfulness (Lk 18:24).

Tithing is an Old Testament command to the Jews (Deu 14:22). ‘Tithe’ means ‘to give 10%’. Christians are never told to tithe in the New Testament. We are told to be ‘cheerful givers’ (2 Cor 9:7). We are also told to ‘lay by in store’ and plan ahead before we give (1 Cor 16:1-2). We are never told a specific amount that we are supposed to give. Having said that, I think 10% is a good starting point for giving. Don’t let anyone badger you with the “You Have to Tithe” argument, though. Unless you are a Jew, you aren’t bound by the 10% rule.

It sounds like the church you attend teaches something called “The Prosperity Gospel”. The “Prosperity Gospel” is a false teaching that says if you serve God, you will have financial success; if you don’t, you will have financial failure. This is completely false. Job was the most faithful man on the planet in his day (Job 1:8), and he suffered more financial loss than anyone before or since. If the congregation you attend is teaching that… run. They are wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt 7:15) who are teaching that Jesus cares more about money than He does about souls.

Why can't women become preachers or lead songs for that matter? Would it be a sin?

Sincerely,
A Woman’s Role

Dear A Woman’s Role,

Women have a zillion different roles and responsibilities within the church; leading singing and preaching aren’t on the list. Women are not supposed to be in authority over men within the church (1 Tim 2:11-12). Men are supposed to lead the congregation in teaching and worship when the congregation assembles together (1 Cor 14:34-35). Women and men have equal value in God’s eyes (1 Pet 3:7), but their roles are different (1 Cor 11:8-10). Yes, it would be a sin for a woman to be a preacher. Society doesn’t like that statement, but the Bible makes it nonetheless.

I have two questions regarding the Holy Spirit:

1. Speaking in tongues: Does this still happen? What are some verses that talk about this subject?
2. Prophesy: Can we prophesy through the Holy Spirit? Or who does/can?

Please help me answer these questions.

Sincerely, Visions of Answers

Dear Visions of Answers,

Speaking in tongues and prophesying are miraculous abilities that no longer exist because they are no longer needed. The purpose of miracles was to bear witness that Jesus and His apostles were sent by God (Heb 2:4). Both speaking in tongues and prophesying were miraculous abilities that the church needed in its infancy. Speaking in tongues was useful for preaching the gospel to unbelieving nations with various languages; prophesy was useful for teaching the church God’s will before they had a complete New Testament (1 Cor 14:22). Now that the New Testament is complete and has spread to every nation and language, there is no need for such miracles. Paul himself said that miracles were only needed until knowledge of God’s will was perfectly preserved for all mankind (1 Cor 13:8-10).

The easiest way to see that these miracles have ceased is to see how God provided them. The Holy Spirit provided the apostles with the ability to perform miracles on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). The apostles could perform miracles, and they also had the unique ability to pass on miraculous abilities through touch (Acts 8:15-18). Since the apostles were the only ones that could pass on the ability to perform miracles to others, we would need an apostle alive today in order to still have prophesy, speaking in tongues, miraculous healings, etc. The miracles died out with the final person that the last living apostle laid his hands on. Today, we are led by the perfect and complete Word of God (Jude 1:3, Rom 1:16), and those miraculous abilities are no longer necessary.

When I was going to a youth conference on the weekend, I was reading the Bible in the book of Acts. I found Acts 2:17-21.

I knew this verse had something to do with the weekend. When we stopped at a coffee shop, I told my friend about the verse, and she thought it was amazing. When we were at the main session of the youth conference, the preacher used this verse… does this have any spiritual meaning?

Sincerely, Acting on Acts

Dear Acting on Acts,

The coincidence of the preacher using this verse aside, every Bible verse has a spiritual meaning and significance. Acts 2:17-21 is an excerpt from Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, the very first sermon preached after Christ ascended into heaven. Peter is quoting the book of Joel (Joel 2:28-32) and stating that what Joel wrote about was happening now. The verses have nothing to do with our behavior today or the end of time. If someone uses those verses to talk about speaking in tongues, modern day prophecy, visions, or the end of the world – they are misusing the Bible. Those verses refer to that particular day and the time period surrounding Christ’s life and death. Let me explain the context.

For 400 years, the Jews had received no word from God - no prophets, no visions, no dreams, nothing. Then, after all that silence came:

1. Zacharias and the angel (Lk 1:13)
2. Elizabeth’s prophecy (Lk 1:41)
3. Simeon’s prophecy (Lk 2:26)
4. Anna’s prophecy (Lk 2:36)
5. The vision of the shepherds (Lk 2:8-9)
6. John the Baptist’s preaching (Matt 3:1)
7. Jesus’ miracles (Jhn 2:11)
8. The miracles of Jesus’ seventy disciples (Lk 10:17)

There was a veritable explosion of supernatural events. Peter is explaining how this influx of miracles, visions, and prophecy were a fulfillment of what Joel had said would happen in the last days of Israel. ‘In the last days’ doesn’t mean the end of the world in this circumstance; it means the end (or last days) of the Old Covenant. Peter is using these verses from the book of Joel to illustrate that Jesus really is the Messiah that the Jews had been waiting for. Jesus fulfilled Joel’s prophecy, and today we reap the benefits of it.

I was reading a question to a priest, and I asked him why we call him ‘father’ when it specifically says not to in the Bible (Matt 23:8). His response was that it is for the same reason a child calls their parent ‘father’; they are the natural father and the priest is the spiritual father. While I believe calling a priest ‘father’ is wrong, why is it okay to call our birth parent ‘father’?

Sincerely, Paternal Nomenclature

Dear Paternal Nomenclature,

Calling a priest ‘father’ is wrong because, as the priest said, it is referring to ‘father’ in a spiritual sense. That is what Christ is condemning in Matt 23:8-10. Christ is rebuking people who elevate themselves above others within the church. Catholic priests place themselves in a position of spiritual superiority and authority above others. That is wrong and exactly what Christ told His disciples never to do.

On the other hand, the term ‘father’ is perfectly fine when used to refer to a physical parent. The Bible itself uses the word ‘father’ almost 1,000 times, and the vast majority of those times refer to fleshly parents. Gen 2:24, Gen 9:22, Lev 20:9, Pr 17:25, Mk 10:29, Lk 11:11 are just a few examples. Our fathers are a blessing from God given to us for a time to guide and discipline us (Heb 12:9-10). They are worthy of honor and the title ‘father’ (Eph 6:2).