To All Our Loyal Readers,

We wanted to take a moment to thank you for sticking with us through TWO THOUSAND questions in almost three years!  In that time, we’ve referred people to congregations all over the world, been able to see people restored to the church, and even heard of our readers being baptized into Christ.  We are so thankful to be a part of the Lord’s work in such a unique way.  We give thanks for you all and glory to God, Father of us all.

Sincerely,
A Very Blessed AYP Team

     Is it biblical to raise your hand(s) during praise and worship songs?  Why do people raise their hand(s) during song?  Is there a right and wrong way to lift your hand(s)?

Sincerely,
Palms Up

Dear Palms Up,

The practice of lifting up your hands during worship is traced to 1 Tim 2:8, but unfortunately, many people misunderstand this verse.  There is nothing wrong with literally lifting up your hands to God, but Paul is telling them to “lift up holy hands, without wrath and disputing”.  The context is about a certain lifestyle that people were to have.  It is similar to the saying, “Put your hand to the plow” in Lk 9:62.  ‘Lifting up holy hands’ refers to working, laboring, and serving in a godly way.  Christians are to serve God faithfully, without arguing and disputing with each other.  ‘Lifting up holy hands’ has nothing to do with how high your arms are raised when you pray; it has to do with the character of the life you live.  Are we living holy lives when our hands serve God (1 Cor 4:12)?  Raising your hands during worship has the impression of godliness, but living faithful lives actually fulfills God’s command to ‘lift up holy hands’ (2 Tim 3:5).

       Just a reminder regarding questions asked anonymously: we appreciate your questions so very much, and we love answering them.  Due to the volume of questions we receive, we cannot guarantee an answer to an anonymous question.  We always respond to questions that come with a contact e-mail, but we can only post so many answers a day on the site, and therefore, anonymous questions don’t receive the same guarantee.  If we haven’t answered your question, it’s not that there isn’t an answer; it wasn’t chosen for posting, and we had no way of contacting you directly.  If you’d still like an answer, please feel free to re-submit your question.

Sincerely,
The AYP Team

After much labor and intense technical efforts, the AYP app is now available through iTunes.  We couldn’t be happier with the final product.  Now you can read AskYourPreacher on the go using your iPhone, iPod, or iPad.  We found that many of you, our readers, had questions you wanted to ask while away from your computers… and now you can!  Download the app today – and as always with AYP, it’s free.

Just search for “Ask Your Preacher” in the iTunes app store.

How can I be a good christian?  I want to do the work of God; thank you.

Sincerely,
Ready Worker

Dear Ready Worker,

Christ says that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments (Jhn 14:6).  The Bible is the Word of God, and Jesus is also called the Word (Jhn 1:1-2).  The Bible contains everything that God wants us to know about life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3).  We can have insight into the mind of Christ through the Bible (1 Cor 2:16).  When we take the Bible seriously and allow it to mold our lives, we please God who formed us.  That means attending a congregation that faithfully follows the Bible (Heb 10:24-25), studying the Scriptures to grow (Acts 17:11), doing what the Bible says it takes to become a christian (read “What Must I Do To Be Saved?” for more information on that topic), and continually growing in our lives (2 Pet 3:18, 1 Pet 2:2).

Under the question marked “Find a New Habit”, do you think there is any hope for this person? And what if he doesn’t tell anybody?

Sincerely,
Looking For Hope

Dear Looking For Hope,

There is always hope as long as someone is still alive (Eccl 9:4). Until you die, you can still repent and turn to God. It is only when someone dies without turning to God that any chance of redemption vanishes (Pr 11:7). People who love God enough can find a way to break addiction and keep His commandments (Jhn 14:15), even if that means exposing their sin and enduring the humiliation and shame.

Now, the second part of your question deals with what happens if the person won’t tell anybody about that sin. We can’t tell you what exactly will happen if someone doesn’t use the Bible’s cure for addictions and entrenched sin. Some people may succeed in beating an addiction without seeking help – but we don’t know of any cases. God didn’t intend for people to struggle through this life without help from others. The church was specifically designed by God to build people up and strengthen them during their weakest hours (Heb 10:23-25, Eph 4:12-16). If we want to grow, we need to use the tools God has given us to grow – that includes other faithful people (Pr 27:17).

]]> http://www.askyourpreacher.org/2010/12/find-a-new-habit-pt-2/feed/ 0 http://www.askyourpreacher.org/2010/08/1000/ http://www.askyourpreacher.org/2010/08/1000/#comments Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:02:56 +0000 Scott Beyer http://www.askyourpreacher.org/?p=2845 Dear Readers,

AskYourPreacher has now posted one thousand questions!  Thank you to all our readers for your confidence in us and for your dedication to the Bible.  When the Monroe Valley church of Christ started this website, we believed there was a need, but we weren’t sure… well, we are now!  We couldn’t ask for a more loyal group of readers.  Thank you for all your referrals (many people write in saying that they heard of our site through others) and kind words.  Nothing is more thrilling than helping people get in touch with faithful congregations, leading people to the saving waters of baptism, and seeing God’s Word prick hearts.  In a world of religious confusion, God’s Word has never changed.  Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,
The Ecstatic AYP Team

Who is the one who saw Lot’s wife turn into a pillar of salt?  If they looked back, would they too not of turned to salt?

Sincerely,
Pepper Person

Dear Pepper Person,

The story of Lot’s wife turning into a pillar of salt is recorded in Gen 19:26.  The Bible never tells us who saw her turn into a pillar of salt, but it may have been Lot’s daughters who were also fleeing the city (Gen 19:16).  Lot’s daughters could have been standing behind their mother when she turned back and looked at the city – something she was expressly commanded not to do (Gen 19:17).  Either that or they may have returned later to see her frozen as a pillar of salt.  The Bible isn’t specific about who saw the event, but there are numerous plausible answers.

What day is truly the Sabbath day?

Sincerely,
Sabbatarian

Dear Sabbatarian,

Saturday is the Sabbath day… but christians don’t have to worry about keeping the Sabbath.  The word ‘sabbath’ means ‘rest’.  The Sabbath day was a day that the nation of Israel was told to rest, stop working, and make holy to the Lord (Ex 31:15).  The Sabbath was part of the Old Testament law – a law that christians are no longer under (Gal 3:23-25).  We are specifically told not to let anyone bind the Sabbath on us (Col 2:16).  Christians worship Christ on the first day of the week – Sunday (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 16:1-2).  We are not bound by the strict rules of avoiding all work like the Jews were, but we are told to treat Sunday as “the Lord’s day” (Rev 1:10).

My wife and I attend a church that is some twenty-plus miles from our neighboring community.  We have been there almost twenty years.  We both serve faithfully every Sunday.  Our church is very active in its own community, and there are plenty of churches in our neighborhood that we may be useful in serving at, but, quite frankly, I feel stuck (to be honest).  Here is my question: I’ve heard people in the body of Christ say “You can’t leave this or that church IF God has not released you yet”.  Other than what Hebrews 10:25 says, is a comment like that supported biblically?

Sincerely,
Stuck

Dear Stuck,

Heb 10:25 says that you need to regularly attend a faithful congregation, but it doesn’t say anything about where that congregation needs to be.  Rom 16:1-2 gives the example of Phoebe, who used to worship in Cenchrae and then moved to Rome.  It is necessary for any congregation you attend to be well-grounded in the truth (1 Tim 3:15), but the location is simply not important.  You might read our posts “Finding A Church” and “Down With Denominationalism” to help you in your search for a congregation near you.  There is no reason you need to attend a specific congregation when another faithful one is closer.

I dream about things before they happen.  And I have seen people after they have passed on since I was a little girl.

Is this looked at as bad, unnatural, or evil?

Sincerely,
Speaker For The Dead

Dear Speaker For The Dead,

It is looked at as lying.  God specifically condemns all forms of the dark arts (Lev 20:6) because such practices are idolatry and rebellion against Him (1 Sam 15:23).  Throughout the ages, there have always been people that have claimed to be able to perform supernatural feats, such as telling the future… and they all have been proven to be frauds.  If you could really tell the future, you wouldn’t be sending the question into this website – you would be on the five o’clock news.  Follow the example of the converts in Acts 19:19 that burned up all their books of the magical arts and wholly and completely turned to serve the Lord with honest hearts.

It has been almost nine months since we flipped the switch and went live with AskYourPreacher.  In that time, we have answered hundreds of e-mails privately and publicly, braved the storms of technical issues, enjoyed the blessings of your kind words, been able to connect people to faithful churches around the globe, heard reports of multiple baptisms, and made some truly lasting friendships.  For all of this, we thank you and praise God.

Today, we celebrate a thrilling milestone of having posted our 500^th answer.  Thank you for the journey.  We are humbled and thankful for the ride this far and excited for all the great days ahead.  If any good has been done, the credit goes to God (1 Cor 3:7).

If we could ask one thing, it would be that you keep reading and sending in your questions.  You never know what life may be touched because you had the courage to ask for a Bible answer and allow us to post it for all to see.  After receiving all of your wonderful questions, more than ever, we are convinced that there is a Bible answer for every question.

With Deepest Thanks,

The AYP Team

If God loves everyone, why does He send people to hell?

Sincerely,
Concerned For Souls

Dear Concerned For Souls,

God doesn’t want anyone to go to hell (Eze 33:11), but He gave us free will, and He respects our choices. Heaven and hell are the two eternal destinations of the human soul. Every human being gets to choose which path they wish to take (Matt 7:13-14). God gives you an entire lifetime to decide which place to live. During this life we choose to submit to Him (Jas 4:10) and wait for Him to exalt us, or we live for ourselves and must depend on ourselves on the day of judgment (Lk 13:25-27).

Heaven and hell are about choices. By the way we live, we choose to be with God forever or to live for ourselves. God desperately wants all to choose Him, but when people don’t, He respects their wishes. Even if it means by respecting them, they become separated from Him eternally. God respects your freedom to choose… so choose wisely (Heb 9:27).

What is the mission of the Church?  I know we can look at what the Church does or does not do in the New Testament, but are there specific verses that point to exactly what the Church should be doing?

Sincerely,
Working It Out

Dear Working It Out,

The clearest verse on the subject of the church’s purpose is in the book of Ephesians. Eph 4:12-16 points out that the church was designed, so that the saints would be ‘perfected’, for the ‘work of the ministry’, and for the ‘edifying (building up) of the body of Christ’.

The church of the New Testament is supposed to help prepare christians to be better christians by filling their minds with God’s Word. We see many examples of the church being busy with this kind of teaching and learning (Acts 2:42, Col 3:16). This is how christians are perfected (Col 1:28).

The church is also to be busy about the ‘work of ministry’ – preaching to the lost. Christ said He came to save sinners (1 Tim 1:15). One of His last commands to His apostles was to preach to the lost (Matt 28:18-20). Every congregation must be actively attempting to teach the Word of God to those who don’t understand it.

After preaching to the lost and teaching the saved, the only other work that we see an example of is caring for needy christians. Paul told Timothy there was a time to help out poor widowed christians (1 Tim 5:9-10). We also see the church in Jerusalem doing this (Acts 4:34-35).

The reality is that a local congregation’s work has always been very simple:

1. Teach the saved.
2. Preach to the lost.
3. When necessary, care for needy christians.