I was reading in Rev 22:19, and I firmly believe that once saved, always saved, but I’m having a tough time figuring this verse out.  What are your thoughts on it?

Sincerely,
Conflicted

Dear Conflicted,

We wouldn’t be so quick to hold firm to the teaching “once saved, always saved”.  The idea that you can’t ever lose your salvation is a warping of Christ’s message in Jhn 10:27-29.  “Once saved, always saved” is a basic doctrine of Calvinism (read “Calvin And Sobs” for more details on the errors of Calvinism).

The Bible clearly says that you can lose your salvation.  Heb 3:12 says that we must be wary and protect our hearts because an evil, unbelieving heart can fall away.  2 Pet 3:17 says that we can lose our salvation if we get caught up in false teaching (1 Tim 4:1 also states this).  If we return to a life of ungodliness, then we crucify Christ again (Heb 6:4-6).  Rev 22:19 is another great example of how our lives must be faithful unto death if we wish to receive the heavenly prize (Rev 2:10).

A coworker and I had a discussion on tithing.  He is a member of the Church of God (not the biblical one).  Well, he was saying 1 Cor. 16:2 is referring to the support a congregation gives to mission work; he says that Paul was doing mission work going town to town.  Now, I told him I would have to get back to him on that.  To me, it kind of seems like that MIGHT have been the case.  I understand that the Old Law died with Jesus.  What is good Scripture to show that we do or do not tithe?  How much do we give if a certain amount is not commanded?

Sincerely,
Signing The Check

Dear Signing The Check,

The New Testament and Old Testament teachings on giving are similar… but not the same.  The Old Testament was very specific that giving should be a minimum of ten percent (Deut 14:22).  The word ‘tithe’ means ‘one-tenth’.  However, we don’t obey Old Testament laws because we are no longer under that law (Gal 3:23-25).  If your coworker wants to teach that you must tithe, he needs to provide you with a New Testament verse for that teaching.  It is his responsibility to provide a command or example for specific giving amounts, not your responsibility to disprove it.

In the New Testament, we see a more generic teaching on giving.  Though ten percent is a good rule of thumb (after all, the Old Testament is given to us as an example – 1 Cor 10:11), christians are simply told to “give as they have prospered” (1 Cor 16:1-2) and to be cheerful givers (2 Cor 9:7), but God never specifically says how much christians should give.  That is an issue of wisdom and is left for each individual heart to work out for itself (Php 2:12).  The specific rule of giving one-tenth of our income no longer applies; instead, we are told to examine our hearts and give thankfully.  1 Cor 16:2 does deal with collecting money for the needy saints in Jerusalem, but it is also the only New Testament pattern we have for when and how the church should collect money, so the principles would apply.

     My wife says she won’t be submissive; she says she never has and never will, and if that’s the way I think, maybe we should end our marriage.  She also says that submission was only a thing of that time period.  I want to live the best christian life that I can; what should I say or do?

Sincerely,
Too Aggressive?

Dear Too Aggressive,

The Bible never commands a husband to make his wife submit.  God commands husbands to love their wives and wives to submit to their husbands (Eph 5:24-25).  You cannot force your wife to submit to you, nor is it your job to do that.  She will answer to God for the choices she makes in your marriage, and you will answer to God for the choices you make.

Love your wife and care for her as you do your own body (Eph 5:28).  Don’t be embittered against her (Col 3:19).  These are the commands to a husband.  When you live a godly life and follow your responsibilities, you show her that there is another way to live.  When a husband lives up to his biblical responsibilities, he becomes a leader in his home.  When he does that, his wife has a leader worth following.

Can you explain what’s going on in Numbers 31:25-41, especially regarding what happens to both the animals and people captured after being divided and given to Eleazar the priest as a tribute for God or as a heave offering of Jehovah?

Sincerely,
Heave-Ho!

Dear Heave-Ho,

In Numbers 31, Moses was to lead the Israelites in battle against the Midianites (Num 31:1-2).  After the battle, the army had to decide what to do with the plunder from the land (Num 31:12).  God told them to split the plunder 50/50 between the soldiers who fought and the rest of the nation (Num 31:26-27).  The soldiers were told to take 1/500^th of their share of the plunder and give it to the priest (Num 31:28-29).  Of the half that went to the rest of the nation, 1/50^th was to be given to the Levites (Num 31:30-31).  The verses you mentioned simply address a practical matter of dividing the spoils of war.

Who I am going to marry?  Who do I love?  Does he love me?  How old am I?

Sincerely,
Go Ahead, Answer My Questions

Dear Go Ahead, Answer My Questions,

We are just men here at AYP and not prophets.  We can’t tell you the specifics of your life and future.  However, we can give you some principles for how to look for a spouse.  Read “Dating” in our archives for some of the Bible teachings on finding a spouse.

     My husband and I have really noticed a major increase in signs of the end times.  It seems people are blatantly ignoring the truth.  Do you think we as a society are living in the book of Revelation?  Do you believe any of the seals have been opened?  If so, which ones?  Thanks!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Prepared

Dear Mrs. Prepared,

There are a great many opinions about when the world will end, but the truth is nobody knows because God doesn’t say.  God told the Thessalonians that the end would come “like a thief in the night” (1 Thess 5:2).  If anything, the one thing you can count on is that it won’t be when people say it is.  In truth, a christian shouldn’t worry about when the end will come… we should live every day like the end could be today.

Paul told the Thessalonians (who were quite fixated with the return of Christ) that they should live every day soberly, as if any day might be the day (1 Thess 5:4-6).

People have been using details from the book of Revelation to “predict” the end of time for centuries.  Unfortunately, the book of Revelation has nothing to do with the end of time.  Revelation is a book dedicated to what would “shortly come to pass” (Rev 1:1).  Specifically, Revelation dealt with the coming persecution that the church of the first century was about to face.  It is a figurative and symbolic book (Rev 1:1 – notice the word ‘signified’, that means ‘symbolic’) that God used to prepare those saints for the trials they had ahead of them (see our post “Left Behind” for more details).  Using the book of Revelation to “forecast” the end of time is using the book out of context.

The other thing that we must be aware of is that every generation and every individual (us here at AYP included) is convinced that things are getting worse.  Every generation has felt that things were getting so bad with the world that the end of the world must be soon.  God warns us about the habit of constant pessimism (Eccl 7:10).  There will come a time when the world is so wicked that God will destroy this earth, but that will only happen after He has given as much time as is needed for mankind to repent of their sins (2 Pet 3:9-10).  Since we do not know when that day is, let us live every day with holy living and godliness (2 Pet 3:11-12).