The Bible teaches that God desires his people to tithe. The early Jewish Christians naturally understood tithing to be the general teaching of Scripture, and, as a result, carried the practice of tithing from Judaism into the church. New Testament giving is a matter of the heart rather than of the law.
The Bible also teaches that special offerings should be periodically given for the legitimate needs of Christians around the world.
1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
• We should have the Lord’s Supper ‘until He comes.’
• We should live in light of the fact that Christ will return.
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
• ‘Asleep’ = dead.
• Christians who are still living when this happens will be ‘caught up together’ with those who had already died to meet the Lord.
Revelation 3:10 Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
• The ‘hour of testing,’ or hour of trial, is the tribulation.
• The great importance of the rapture is not that we will avoid the Great Tribulation, because we still go through tough times now.
Why is the Rapture important?
1. The doctrine of imminency is emphasized by Paul.
2. The scripture indicates that the doctrine of imminency is important. Paul talks about it often.
3. What one believes about this doctrine is often indicative of what he believes about other important doctrines, such as the importance and authority of the Bible.
A brief explanation of these three points:
1. Paul explained the mystery.
• See also Ephesians 1, 3 and 1 Corinthians 12.
• Paul had been given from God the explanation of “the church,” and Paul passed the doctrines and explanation of what it means to be ‘in Christ’ to us.
• In order to be clear biblically, we have to understand the special place of Paul in the revelations of God. Paul explains how God relates to the church, what it means to be ‘in Christ.’
- For example, Matthew is written to God’s covenant people. Romans is written to those who are ‘in Christ.’
• Paul revealed the mystery of what it means to be ‘in Christ.’
2. Paul’s writings teach imminency.
• See also 1 Thessalonians 1:9–10.
3. Two peoples, two purposes.
• Israel and the Church.
• Distinguishing these two purposes helps us understand what God has for us.
How should these things affect me?
1. We should study the Scriptures carefully.
• Many Christians treat the Bible as a devotional book, or a book of ethics, or a book about the Golden Rule.
• We have to understand the Bible by studying it as a textbook.
2. We should approach life seriously.
• As a church, we need to care about people enough to reach out to them before terrible things happen.
1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
• Don’t grieve in the wrong way, as those who have no hope.
• ‘Sleep’ here does not mean napping. Paul is talking about those who have died ‘in Christ.’
- ‘Dead in Christ’ refers specifically to those who believe and died after Christ lived on earth, not the Old Testament saints.
• Our ‘hope’ is that the dead in Christ will be raised.
Although the Lord’s Supper is a very solemn, serious time, there should also be in our hearts this real sense of joy and peace.
• It doesn’t matter how bad it gets here today. In the end, it’s going to be ok. We will go to be with the Lord.
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Law
• The Law makes demands, shows us our guilt before God, and causes us to be afraid of God.
Grace
• Gospel does not make demands but refers to Christ’s death and resurrection and resultant benefits.
• Grace as a rule of life makes demands, may cause us to fear the consequences of our disobedience, and produces sorrow for failure. Generally, grace motivates believers to obey by love.
(The above statements were taken from “Law and Grace” by Myron Houghton.)
1 Corinthians 6:9–10 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
• In these verses Paul is speaking of Law. This is bad news for Paul’s hearers, and is meant to show them that they do not deserve to enter into the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
• This verse is good news; this is gospel. They have been justified “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,” that is, by His authority that He has as the One who took the penalty of the Law on our behalf. We are justified “in the Spirit of our God,” in that the Spirit is the One who draws us to the realization that we are sinners who need to be saved.
In order to function successfully as a Church, members of a Church must all be in agreement about what they believe. How can we understand the Bible?
The Gospel is the center of the Bible.
1 Corinthians 2:1–5 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Example: The apostle Paul writes that the point is Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Application: This is the center of what we believe, and it is also the perimeter of what we believe. Theology is about God wanting to rescue people and reconcile them with Himself, out of His love for people.
This helps us to understand various passages of the Bible.