Are The Red Letters In The New Testament All That Matter?
There are some people who take the position that the words of Jesus in the New Testament (which are marked as red in most Bibles) are more important than the rest of the words in the New Testament. Some people would go as far as stating that the authority of Paul as an apostle and the rest of the inspired writers are not relevant today. One of the underlying reasons of this position is wanting to strip away the strict teachings on the roles of men and women in the spiritual life of the church and the home (1 Timothy 2:8-15; 1 Corinthians 11:2-16; 14:34,35; Ephesians 6:1-4), the sinfulness of homosexuality (Romans 1:24-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11), marriage, divorce, and remarriage (1 Corinthians 7 :10-24), and other subjects.
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Are Mechanical Instruments of Music An Aid or An Addition?
One of the longest held arguments that advocates who are in favor of justifying the practice of worshipping with mechanical instruments of music in the worship of the New Testament church is known as the "expedient (or aid) argument ". The "expedient argument " states that mechanical instruments of music in church worship are an aid to the congregational singing in the same way that songbooks, pitchforks, projectors, projector screens, and many other items are considered an aid.
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Are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John Part of The New Covenant?
Some people have argued that the four gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) should not be considered a part of the new covenant. The underlying reason for teaching this false doctrine is to take away the binding force of Matthew 19:9 on marriage, divorce, and remarriage.
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Are "Chain Prayers" Scripturally Acceptable?
A chain prayer is where adult males and females are gathered together for the purpose of prayer and each member of that group will lead a prayer in turn while the other members listen. Is such a practice acceptable and authorized by God?
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Should One Elder Take It Upon Himself To Make Changes Without Consulting The Other Elders?
No. Authority does not reside in one man, but within the eldership. Note the plurality mentioned in (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5). The elders must agree upon the changes in question and discuss whether they are in accordance with the word of God (Colossians 3:17).
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Must an elder have every qualifications himself? Or can all the elders share together all the qualifications?
1 Timothy 3:1-7 states: "This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having hischildren in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil."
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Is It Scriptural To Lift Up Our Hands In Prayer To God?
The Bible presents a number of different postures in which people prayed to God , for example:
- Exodus 4:31 - Bowing down one's head
- Daniel 6:10 - Kneeling
- Matthew 26:39 - Falling on one's face
- Luke 18:13 - Not look ing toward heaven (expressing a contrite and humble spirit as a sinner who is in need of the grace of God).
- 1 Kings 8:22,23 - Spreading out one's hands toward heaven
- Nehemiah 8:6 - Answering "Amen, Amen!" while lifting up one's hands
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Is It Possible For Today's Men To Meet All The Qualifications Of An Elder?
This question assumes that a person cannot obey the commandments of God. It assumes that God's commandments are impossible. Would God give such impossible commandments? The qualifications do not demand a sinless, perfect man (1 John 1:7-10). If that were true, no man would qualify. The fact of the matter is that some of these qualifications tak e time to develop, therefore, we need to teach our young men to desire to be an elder one day.
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Could A Bachelor Be An Elder If He Has Had Experience With Children, Such As A School Teacher?
No. 1 Timothy 3:1-7 states: "This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil."
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Can Deacons Be Appointed To Their Work Without Elders?
No. There are several reasons why a local congregation should not have deacons without elders.
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Is The Church A Physical Building?
People today often refer to a building when they speak of the church. They may say, “Isn’t that a beautiful church” or “where is the church located?” However, the Lord’s church is not a building or physical structure. The church is a spiritual body (John 18:36) made up of people who have obeyed the Gospel (1 Peter 4:17). When Peter preached on Pentecost we read, “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). Those who obey the gospel (Matthew 7:21; Hebrews 5:9) by believing in Jesus, repenting of sins, confessing faith in Jesus and being baptized in water for the remission of sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 8:37; 22:16) are added to the church by God (Acts 2:47). The church is the spiritual body of Christ, the redeemed (Titus 2:14), the body of those who are saved (Ephesians 5:23).
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Is Your Pastor A Pastor In The Biblical Sense?
The word "pastor" (Latin for “shepherd”) appears in our English Bible and is from the Greek word poimen. This word occurs 18 times in the New Testament and refers to one who feeds and cares for a flock of sheep. This word is most often translated "shepherd" but it can be translated "pastor" also.
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Is It Wrong For A Woman (Wife) To Lead A Prayer With Her Husband?
We must understand that the roles of men and men apply to both men and women (whether both spouses are Christian or non-Christian). [NOTE: Please consult our question: “Do God's Instructions On The Roles of Men and Women Apply To Christians Only?” for more information].
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Are Members of The Church of Christ 'Pharisees' Because They Believe In The Cessation of Miraculous Gifts As The Bible Indicates?
This question arose from a study among some young Latter-Day Saint missionaries who hold to a belief system in modern-day revelation and miracles as described in their Articles of Faith. In this study, one of them claimed that we were like the Pharisees in that we were testing to see if the Latter-Day Saint religion was true because they claim they can perform miracles as found in the New Testament. One of the points of evidence that can show whether a person is a true messenger of God is whether or not he can perform true miracles (John 3:2; 20:30,31; Mark 16:17-20).
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Does The Latter-Day Saint Standard Works and the Qu'ran Violate The Parameters of Revelation?
We need to define the terms “parameter” and “revelation.” “Parameter” is described as “a limit or boundary that defines the scope of a particular process or activity.” “Revelation” is described as “the means through which God imparts facts and truths previously” (that is, from God to man, 1 Corinthians 2:10-12).
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Must An Elder Remain Married?
As part of the qualifications of an elder the Holy Spirit says, “This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach…” (1 Tim. 3:1-2).
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Does 1 Corinthians 11:5 Prove That Women Can Be In Spiritual Leadership Roles Over Men?
In 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, the Bible states: “Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you. But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head. But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved.
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Are We Obligated To Obey The Specific Details of The Old Testament?
There are several reasons as to why we are to obey the principles of the Old Testament, but not the specific details that are given [Please consult our Q & A: “Are We Obligated To Obey The Principles of The Old Testament?” for further insight.]
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Is Ephesians 5:19 Only Related To Daily Life And Not The Worship Assembly?
One argument used to try to justify the use of mechanical instruments in worship to God is stated as follows: “Ephesians 5:19 is not related to or found within the context of the worship assembly; it only applies to the activities of daily life.”
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Why Is Fasting Not Emphasized In Marriage?
This question springs up from the context of 1 Corinthians 7:1-5 and, in particular, the whole chapter. This passage is dealing with questions from the Corinthian brethren that Paul answers. In this historical context, there was a “present distress” [a period of adversity] that was occurring at that time (1 Corinthians 7:26) and Paul was sharing his inspired wisdom on what to do.
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