Sometimes when you look at really wealthy people, you’re tempted to think, “They’re bad people. They’re evil people.” That very well could be true, because sometimes wealth can be an indication of evil on a couple levels.
One, if a person gains their wealth through unscrupulous, immoral means, well, their wealth represents evil, doesn’t it? Obviously, the rich guys in the mafia, they’re rich because of their evil, their corruption, and so forth.
We’re going to talk about the question of polygamy, which is an all-encompassing term that just means having more than one spouse. It can apply to a man having more than one wife or a woman having more than one husband.
There are specific terms that describe each one of those phenomenon, but, regardless, what’s common in the Old Testament to a degree is some men having more than one wife. There are some pretty well-known Bible characters who had more than one wife. Abraham did and Caleb did and David, of course, did. I think he had like eight wives and 10 concubines.
Is tithing to the local church actually a form of giving, or is it a form of paying? This will be the third Little Lesson we’ve been talking about the subject of tithing, very common subject amongst Christians who are trying to follow the Bible and, particularly, pastors who need money.
I’m questioning the very basis of what so many people believe: first of all, that the tithe belongs to the local church. It’s not a biblical idea at all. Anyone who says so is fooling themselves, and they ought to be challenged on it in a loving way.
We’re going to continue talking about the subject of tithing. If you missed the previous Little Lesson, I kind of laid a foundation there. It’d be great if you saw that one first.
Because under the New Covenant, obviously, you can’t find instructions about the necessity of Christians tithing in the epistles written to the Christians by the apostles. There is a little mention about tithing in the epistle to the Hebrews, but it’s not an instruction to tithe. It’s just a historical references to Abraham when he tithed to Melchizedek and that Jesus is now our High Priest.
Here’s a question that I’ve often been asked over the decades. Do I have to tithe?
I got that question back in the days when I was pastoring, and I’ve gotten it many times since that day. It always reflects a basic misunderstanding. Maybe more than one misunderstanding just by virtue of how the question has been framed.
Do you have to keep the Sabbath? In today’s Little Lesson, we’ll talk about Sabbath keeping. And Christians don’t agree on this.
Some, I think the minority, believe that it’s very, very important to keep the Sabbath. It’s one of the 10 Commandments for crying out loud! And it’s based on the fact that God rested Himself on the seventh day (see Genesis 2:1-3), something that pre-dates the law of Moses.
Can true Christians have addictions? In today’s Little Lesson, we’re going to talk a little bit about the subject of addictions, which a lot of people struggle with. Including those who are endeavoring to follow Christ.
Probably the first one that comes to mind is addiction to tobacco. I have heard that the tobacco addiction can be tougher to beat than some addictions to things that are considered to be hard drugs.
Do you have to forgive people who don’t even ask for your forgiveness? We’ve been talking about forgiveness the last few episodes of Little Lessons. And today’s question, of course, is another one along those lines. When people offend us, when people sin against us, do we have to forgive them? And my answer is going to absolutely shock many who are watching this.
Will God forgive you if you keep repeating the same sin over and over again? This is a great question because, as I mentioned on our previous Little Lesson, none of us have reached perfection yet.
“We all stumble,” James said, “in many ways, and if anyone hasn’t stumbled in what he says,” there’s the biggest stumbling place right there, “he’s a perfect man, or woman, able to bridle the whole body as well.” (see James 3:2). And he goes on to elaborate about how the tongue is this unruly thing.
You’ve sinned and you still feel guilty; what should you do? Scripture says that everybody’s sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (see Romans 3:23). So if you’ve sinned, welcome to the human race.
But I’m not trying to give anybody any excuses. Because when we believe in Jesus, we’ve set ourselves on a course to follow Him. Which is another way of saying obey Him. Which is another way of saying we keep His commandments.
And that’s our intention. We repent of our sins. We’re turning away from that which we know is displeasing in God’s eyes, and we set ourselves on a course every day: take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow Him (see Luke 9:23).