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.

Is drinking one’s blood or the blood of others a sin or just not wanted to be done?

Sincerely,
What’s For Dinner?

Dear What’s For Dinner?,

Although there is some controversy over the subject, drinking blood is a sin. The Jews knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that drinking blood was a sin (Gen 9:4). A Jewish law is not the same as a christian law though, so we must find a New Testament teaching on the subject. In Acts 15:19-20, a letter is sent by the apostles to all the Gentile christians telling them to abstain from drinking blood or eating meat that had been strangled (thus leaving the blood in the meat). Drinking blood is put side by side with fornication as something to be avoided at all cost. The life is in the blood, and therefore it should be treated with respect (Lev 17:11).

Can a person grow to be as smart as King Solomon? Is it impossible?

Sincerely,
Searching For Wisdom

Dear Searching For Wisdom,

Solomon’s capacity for wisdom was unique and given to him miraculously as a gift from God (1 Kgs 4:29). The Bible states that no one ever was or will be as wise as Solomon (1 Kgs 3:12). We may never attain Solomon’s stature of wisdom, but God still provides a vast well of wisdom for everyone to drink from. The Proverbs teach that God’s wisdom is available for all if we will seek it (Pr 1:20-23). God tells us that if we pray for wisdom, He will give it to us (Jas 1:5). There was only one Solomon, but there is still a whole world of wisdom available in the Bible for the rest of us (Col 3:16).

Should communion bread be unleavened?

Sincerely,
Kneading An Answer

Dear Kneading An Answer,

The Bible only uses unleavened bread in the Lord’s Supper, and therefore we should only use unleavened bread. The Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ during the Passover when the Jews only ate unleavened bread (Mk 14:12, Ex 12:19). Paul alludes to the unleavened bread used in communion and in the Jewish Passover in 1 Cor 5:8.

If the church disregards the example of using unleavened bread in communion, it might as well disregard using bread altogether. Why not orange juice and bacon? Or potato salad and diet Coke? It is very important, vital even, that we always use Bible examples as our guide (Php 3:17), that we imitate the faithful who have gone before us (1 Cor 11:1). Only when we follow Biblical examples can we be confident that we are God’s church and not just another man-made religion.

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.

I am a christian and was attending services this past Sunday when the man leading the Lord’s Supper referred to the cross as a “very ugly thing.” I understand why it would be “ugly” to us; it represents our sin which separates us from God, but it also represents Christ’s death which reunites us with God. So why then do Christians tend to refrain from wearing jewelry in the shape of crosses, etc? I understand that it would be wrong to worship a piece of jewelry (like Catholics with their rosaries), but wouldn’t it be fine to wear a reminder of His sacrifice? Or even have a cross (not a crucifix) in the church building?

Sincerely,
Cross About The Whole Subject

Dear Cross About The Whole Subject,

The problem with crosses as jewelry is that God tells us how He wants us to remember the death of Christ – through the weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:25). Furthermore, christians are supposed to be known by their character, not their clothes (1 Pet 3:3-4). WWJD bracelets, crosses, religious bumper stickers, etc. are often used as a substitute for actually living a faithful life.

Having said all that, wearing a cross isn’t inherently wrong. The Scriptures don’t condemn that kind of clothing, but they strongly caution us against the attitudes that are often portrayed and involved with such outward adornment. Ultimately, the jewelry is unnecessary. The apostles and first century christians certainly didn’t need such ‘holy hardware’ to remember who they were. They found the cross a scary, inhuman, and terrifying way to die. I sometimes wonder… if Christ had died in an electric chair, would we all be wearing golden electric chair charms around our necks and putting giant electric chairs on top of our church buildings? For me, that analogy keeps the issue in proper perspective.