₦airaland Forum

Another question: who practised tithing- Jews or Gentiles? Were you born a Jew or a Gentile? If your answer is Gentile, then did the Gentiles practice tithing? Christians are priests serving the High Priest (Jesus) because there is a change of priesthood due to the death of Jesus. If you are a priest you are supposed to collect tithes from people and not to pay tithes to people. But this is not so because:
1. Christ has fulfilled the law and abolished it.
2. Christians are spiritual Jews not physical Jews who the law was given to
3. Nobody holds your inheritance, neither are you holding anybdy's inheritance as to compensate the person for the inheritance.
Abraham gave willingly in that no one ,not even God, forced him to give a tenth of what he had got. Even if he had not given a tenth, there will be no punishment attached to it. In the time of the law, it was compulsory and there were consequences for not paying tithe.
The new testament way of giving is that of cheerfulness and willingness, not of compulsion. If you want to give God a tenth of what you have, it is not that you are compelled to do so, but it should be from a free and cheerful heart. Giving should be as one decides in his heart not what one has been enslaved in or talked into.
Note: God did not tell the priests to force or compel the people to pay tithes when they do not pay. No pastor is serving as a 'special' priest in that he compels one to pay tithes b/c we are all priests in Christ. The law still works for Jews who are outside Christ, not for those who are in Christ.
If you want to pay tithes follow it as the law demands and not as it suites you. Remember that there are different kinds of tithes. You cannot obey the law and want to live by grace at the same time.

Hell and its lake of fire is real- Hell fire. We have day and night, right and wrong, good and bad, God and satan, beginning and end. So we have heaven and hell. As we live in the planet 'Earth' but believe that there are other planets God created which we have not seen, so is hell. Jesus spoke about hell and its fire. John spoke about hell and its fire, etc as other people have quoted the Scriptures. We cannot clearly ascertain its location and there is no need for us to. It is only when one dies that one will surely know its location. What we should be talking about is how to make heaven and not the locations of hell or heaven. Why do you want to get the location of hell and how does that help you to live a godly life?

What is wrong with some people who call themselves Christians. They study in order to find errors from the Scriptures, but will not compare scripture with scripture. This is what Paul warned us about engaging in vain arguments. You leave studying the Scriptures to see how you will live a life pleasing to God and go to heaven at last. But begin to argue whether God's name is Yaweh or Jehovah or if he has any other name by which he is called.
God has many names and whichever you call Him, he hears and answers. If your name is Emeka Kunle Timothy, will you not answer when anyone calls you by any of the three? God reveals Himself in different ways to different people. God revealed himself to Moses as 'I am' to Abraham, He is 'Jehovah Jireh- God my provider' To David, He is ' Deliverer, Fortress, Shield' and so on.
Note: There is nowhere in the Scriptures that God says that He has an original name or only one name, in that He will not answer you when you do not call him by that 'one' name. Call him by any of his names and He will be come to deliver you.

The Scriptures talks about the Trinity, though this mystery cannot be understood from human perspective or science. When Jesus was in his ministry on earth, he always mentioned 'Father.' There was nowhere in the Scriptures that Jesus claimed to be the Father. He always referred to himself as the Son. John 14:12 '....and greater works than these he will do, because I (Jesus) go to the Father.' Here, Jesus cannot be going to himself but to another personality.
Vs 13 '....that the Father may be glorified in the Son.' Here, the Father cannot be the Son for they are two personalities.
Vs 16 'And I (Jesus) will pray to the Father (another personality), and He (Father) will give you another Helper (another personality), that He (Helper) will abide with you forever.'- three personalities.
Vs 26 'But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My (Jesus, the Son) name. He (the Holy Spirit) will teach you all things.'-three personalities.
Vs 28 '.....I (Jesus) am going to the Father (God the Father) for My Father is greater than I.
John 15:23 'He who hates Me (Jesus) hates My Father also.'- signifying two personalities.
John 16:15 'All things that the Father has are Mine (all belongs to Jesus). Therefore I say that He (the Holy Spirit) will take of Mine(Jesus) and declare it to you.'-three peraonalities.
From all these verses, we can see three personalities- the Father, the Son (Jesus) and the Helper (the Holy Spirit). The Father gives instruction o the Son, who in turn passes it to the Holy Spirit, who gets it across to us. So stop confusing yourselves and remove human ideologies if you want to understand the Scriptures.

1 Timothy 3:1-2 'if a man (not a woman) desires the office of a bishop, he (not she) desires a good work. A bishop must be blameless, husband of one wife (not wife of one husband)........ They can do whatever the will to do but God's word still stands sure.

The Holy Spirit and our conscience are different. God speaks to us through the two. In the olden days when the Holy Spirit has not been given, God dealt with men through their conscience. The conscience tells you the right thing to do as is required by nature. It is the policeman that pricks one whenever one does something wrongly. It is inside both Christians and non-christians.

The Holy Spirit is a personality. He is not a force or thing. He is alive. Only Christians have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, alongside their conscience. The two are there to make a Christian realise his mistakes instantly and with the strength of the Holy Spirit amend his ways. The Holy Spirit is there to prick one's heart when one sins, even when one has silenced one's conscience. When the Holy Spirit speaks, He speals in line with the Scriptures, but this depends on how one studies the Scriptures. The more one studies, the more He uses them to speak to one.

Therefore, one needs to give time to study God's word. The more one studies God's word, the nearer one draws to the Holy Spirit, and the clearer one hears His voice. It is when one is nearer to someone that one can hear him clearly, even when the speaker whispers. One can deaden or overshadow one's conscience but the voice of the Holy Spirit keeps speaking in its calm nature to the person. To differentiate between the two will be somehow difficult to one who does have time to study God's word.

Yes, we all believe that God is a male. But know that God is a Spirit. Spirits can appear in the form of male or female. In nature, we have two genders for humans- male and female. Males are considered superior to females. God even created the male (Adam) first before the female (Eve). The 'He' pronoun that replaces God is to show superiority, b/c God cannot take the lower pronoun 'she.' As a Spirit, He can come in any form.

It is not everything that happens or happened on earth that is written in the bible. People have been eating in dreams before and will continue to eat. As a Christian, God has given you the power to order what you need in life. If I find myself eating in the dream, it means nothing to me. I saw myself eating delicious 'egusi' soup with garri that made me go for a second round in the dream. I was so happy when I woke up and wished that it would become reality.

When I have such dreams,, I will thank God for the food on waking up, and ask him to provide it physically for me to enjoy. You have the power to speak life or good into anything that seems dead or bad to you.do not allow fear into your life. Do not mind dream interpreters, hold on to God and His promises and things will go well with you.

Psalm 12:6 'The words of the Lord are pure words. Like silver tried in a furnace of earth. Purified seven times.' let all men be liars, but let God be the only true one. Jesus can never lie. Isaiah 53:9 'He was placed in a grave with the wicked, he was buried with the rich, even though he had never committed a crime or ever told a lie' (GB). The words 'uttermost ends of the earth' signifies as far as you can step your feet or reach, even the interiormost parts of the earth, not that the world has edge. Only the Holy Spirit can give man the right interpretation to God's word, not human wisdom. No passage of the Scriptures contradicts itself.

When we talk of the Trinity, we talk about three personalities in unity, becoming one- God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The unity binding them makes it impossible for anyone to distinguish them. They have their specific roles. God the Father is at the helm of affairs passing any instruction to God the Son (Jesus), who in turn sends it to God the Holy Spirit (who dwells in us). No man has seen the three because anyone of them that appears represents the three of them. This UNITY in the Trinity is what Jesus prayed for in the lives of Christians. In John 10:30 Jesus said 'I and my Father are one' meaning whoever has seen me has seen the Father. This is why when one prays one can use Father, Jesus, Almighty God, Holy Spirit, and other names to refer to them.
Note: Only the Trinity know themselves. Christians can only see one personality in operation. This is due to the intense unity binding them together.

Bro, the mog actaully told you the fact. This is because he thinks that starting a church gives him automatic ticket as the owner. If he is the owner of the church, what is the position of Jesus there? Do not leave in order to repay him evily for what he did to you. But leave b/c your mind is no more at rest there and seeking for a better place of worship in order to be closer to God and his word.

Bibilical church leadership is not meant to be in the hands of one man but more than one. Acts 14:23 'So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they have believed. According to this passage, every church planted had her own elders/pastors. Every church is independent and controlled by the pastors /not pastor) in that particular church. Also, this helps for effective leadership and easy replacement of anyone of the leaders who is incapacitated or dies, just as the apostles did when Judas Iscariot died. The other leaders will try to bridge the gap left by the incapacitated or dead leader until he is replaced.
Note: If God uses one to plant a church anywhere, it does not automatically mean that one is the General Overseer there. If one is a missionary, his duty is to plant a church after evangelism, nuture the church until they begin to understand the Scriptures, then the church will elect the pastors that will lead them according to the guidelines given in the Scriptures. 1 Timothy 3:1-7;
1. This is a faithful saying: if a man desires (not is called by God) the position of a bishop (pastor, elder), he desires a good work.
2. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife (not a bachelor,a divorcee or one with more than one wife), temperate, sober-minded, of good behaviour, hospitable, able to teach;
3. not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not coveteous;
4. one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence;
5. for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?
6. not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he falls into the same condemnation as the devil;
7. Moreover, he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he falls into reproach and the snare of the devil. (KJV)
Titus 1:5-9
5. For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order the things hat are lacking, and appoint elders in evvery city as I commanded you ---
6. If a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children, not accused of dissipation (being wild) or insubordination.
7. For a bishop must be blameless as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money;
8. but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled,
9. holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.(KJV)
The words Overseer, Pastor, Elder, Bishop, Presbyter, and Shepherd are the same and used interchangeably in the Scriptures and in different bible translations. There are no such words like Pope, Venerable, Reverend, His Lordship, His Holiness, Canon, Rev.Father, and others in the Scriptures as pertaining church leadership. All these names came up just to make a leader above another in the church. Let us go with the simplicity of God's word.

These qualities above are not common nowadays among leaders but this does not change the word of God.
According to these passages, qualifications to being a leader in the church do not include these: educational status, beauty, how gifted one is, how wealthy one is, etc.

One can actually see that neglecting the word of God as pertaining church leadership has caused a lot of damage to the churches. These damage can be apparently seen or felt today in the society.
I am not here to condemn but to bring out the truth as it is in God's word. I do not advocate to leave your church if they hold on to the truth. All I have written here if for the sake of knowledge, so that you will not fall into the snare of one man leadership. Hosea 4:6a 'My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.' John 8:32 'And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.' jesus is our Chief (General) Shepherd/Overseer, 1 Peter 5:4,while the leaders are just shepherds. All leaders (pastors, bishops or elders) in any church have equal authority. This makes it easy for fellow pastors or the church to reprimmand anyone of them without fear when he errs. I hope you remember how the apostles quarreled on who was the greatest among them, and the answer Jesus gave them? (Mark 9:33-37). Anyone of these leaders who exalts himself above others in any particular church does so at his own peril. I know that some people will not read this article before commenting badly. God bless you as you read and help you to understand it.

Please take your time to read this.

One Man Leadership is one deadly disease that has caused many doctrinal controversies and divisions in churches today. This is where a single man claims to oversee a particular church and even the branches with the name 'General'. Note that this system of leadership is not the New Testament bibilical system of leadership. Everyone of these leaders claims to be called by God, maybe because one gets money easily from the church. Some claim that God destroyed their businesses or caused one sickness to come upon them because they refused to answer 'God's' call. They leave their source of livelihood and enter Bible school. On gruaduation, they will be posted to a particular church which may be in remote areas or in cities. The posting sometimes depends on how close one is to the Overseer or Senior Pastor.


Some of these 'so called' leaders twist and turn God's word upside down and deceive their members in order not to lose them, and to recruit more members. Such members hold onto such erroneous teachings even when the truth is shown them in God's word. Confusion and controversies set in, as everyone wants to uphold 'pastor's' teaching but not the word of God. There are opening of churches here and there in order to have many branches. Yet, iniquities grow from strength to strength in the churches. Money-making becomes the order of the day so that there will be large turn-over. A prospering church is now known by the number of members it has, the gigantic building erected, the huge amount of money realised by the church, the type of cars the members ride and so on. The 'so called' leaders do not mind how the members grow spiritually and their level of understanding of the Scriptures. Some of these leaders subtly impose their personal convictions on their members in the name of church doctrine, creating more confusion in christianity. They are the only ones that teach or preach in such churches, or answers all questions thrown at them whether correctly or not. They feel they have grown while others are still growing. They also think they are the only ones highly gifted in preaching or teaching and with higher annointing.


Those working under the 'so called' pastor or GO or GS cannot question his misleading words or indecent actions. They are afraid to be slapped, sternly warned, relieved of their positions or probably sent out of the church by the pastor or by any other faithful member. The GO does not sign any letter written by the subordinates, in order to move the church in the right way, except it meets his own terms and conditions. He does not apologise when he oversteps his boundary because of pride and prestige. Yet, he wants others to apologise to him when offended. When the title- pastor, bishop, reverend, venerable, elder, and so on- is not attached to his name, he does not respond or even come to the high table.

They register these churches in their names, alongside the names of their wives and children. This is to make sure no one lays claim to their churches, when they die, as if the churches were one man businesses (Sole Proprietorships), personal property or inheritance. Because he does not abide by the New Testament bibilical system of church leadership, there will be confusion, fighting, quarreling and division when he dies as to who will take over from him. Some people can attest to this fact!

OMG! If guys mess up ladies in this way, how many decent ones are still remaining for us to marry. You can't eat your cake and have it. Remember God is not mocked b/c you will reap exactly what you have sown. Marriage is honourable with bed undefiled but whoremongers and adulterers, God will judge (Heb. 13:4). Guys and ladies, apply self-control (for Christians and not for church goers). May God help me!

efficiencie:
stories, advanced stories...and religious stories...

Romans 1:25-28

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. [size=20] For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men
working that which is unseemly, [/size] and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain
God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

Thus saith the scriptures!

Well said. There are several holes in the body- nostrils, ear, mouth, vagina and anus. But, there is only ONE way that nature by God has provided for the penis to enter- the VAGINA. Any othe place it is being inserted is perversion and unnatural and against God's will for sex.

Rayhut:
But that your Metaphor is not a good one, it sound like Oba of Lagos metaphor to Igbos living in lagos. If you take your letter from an envelope the next you will do is to throw away your envelopes and somebody's parents should not be qualified in such context be it metaphor or whatever. Back to topic you know that the Bible that you are holding is compiled by Catholic Church, they pick books they believes is good for faith compile it to form the Bible you are holding, there are so many other books that they did not include in the Bible like the book of Timothy, seven books of moses, books of Judas, ideas,tobit, simon etc these book's in Vatican city is only the pope and cardinals that has knowledge of it which they seize from heretics, these books are heavily guarded in Vatican city, some of the books nobody know the content in this world except the pope and the cardinals so what you know about the bible is just a fraction, remember that modern Christianity beliefs may not be what the early Christian believed in, because the Roman army persecutted the heretics and early Christian, what actually I want to pinpoint to you is that Catholic church has knowledge of Christianity more than any Christian church, there may be some books in their possession that stated that Mary was taken to haven but because of so many contradiction in same book they decided not to put it in the bible, had been they put such book in Bible today you should have believed that mary was taken to haven like Elijah and Enoch, there is other books that said that Jesus married Mary Magdalen which they discarded during compilation. so guy learn, your pastor will not tell you all this truth, even Koran was writing by a Jesuits priest known as black pope and giving to Muhammad to so that he can cause confusion and recapture Rome although Muhammed add other books to Koran•

Note: I am not the fan of any pastor or bishop or reverend or pope. If what anyone says is in line with the bible, I take it. If not, I throw it away. You see I believe that the ones compiled were as directed by the Holy Spirit and were never incomplete. All Scriptures is given by the inspiration of God. It is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction in righteousness that the man of God may be complete (2 Tim. 3:16-17). God through His Spirit directed those that compiled it to do so and leaving others out. I don't need to know how it was compiled but how obedient I am to the compiled ones. You can know all of history and theology, including knowing every detail about the compilation. Of what use is it to me if I do not live by the already compiled ones that are complete?
Mary was a vessel that brought Christ into the world. Christ is the important personality we need to exalt. I do not doubt the fact that Mary was his mother earthly, but not in heaven.
Mary and Joseph nutured Jesus until he grew as like other parents do to their children. Remember, Jesus obeyed his parents when he was a child, but obeyed God (his father) during his ministry. He never called Mary 'mother' during his ministry but 'woman.' is it not a height of irresponsibility and stupidity from Jesus if it were to be naturally? Jesus created Mary. So, I would rather go with the Creator than the created. The bible would have recorded that Mary's body was taken to heaven if it were so. But who saw when the body was taken to heaven which is a contradiction to the bible, that flesh and blood (mortal) cannot inherit the kingdom of God? The bible is complete and any story elsewhere should be compared with the already compiled bible as directed by the Holy Spirit. If what any preacher says contradicts the bible, discard it!

Rayhut:
shai, guy you are a very wicked soul oo!!, so you refer somebodies mother as an envelope, if you refer my mother as an envelope used to post me into this world, me and you will have a terrible showdown, if don't have respect for your parents and honour them, me I have full respect for my parents especially my mother, I honour them, even Bible said that if you honour your parents your life will be long on earth, I have pictures of my mother in my house, if you don't have atom of respect for your parents others have. Mary is the mother of Jesus, she deserve respect and honour, I am not religious but what is good is good and what is bad is bad, stop twisting issues

Don't you know what 'Simile' and 'Metaphor' are in literature? Check the dictionary. I tried to use what we can understand to explain sth. Did I say that Mary was an envelope? No I didn't. I have not spoken ill of Mary as it seemed to you. All am saying is that she has died and waiting to be judged on the ressurection day? Honouring her or not has nothing to add to my christian growth. I had better look unto Jesus who knows the way to heaven for he is the Way. If I miss following him, I have missed the way to heaven. Tell me if all I have said is wrong so that I will know how to take correction. Remember, back it up with the Bible.

Mary is like an envelope used to post letter (Jesus) into the world. Which one do you go for: envelope or letter (content)? Mary found favour before God, because Jesus would not have fallen from the sky. Mary said to the servants at Cana in Galilee 'whatever he(Jesus) tells you to do, do it'. Look unto Jesus (not Mary) the author and finisher of our faith.. (Heb 12:2). Mary was the mother of Jesus according to earthly birth, but is not his mother spiritually or in heaven. Remember Jesus created Mary. How can Mary now become the 'Queen' of heaven? Mary married Joseph and had other children aside Jesus, so how come she still has the title 'virgin' even today? Mary believed in Jesus and was among those that received the power of the Holy Spirit in the upper room. She died just like any other human being and was buried b/c no flesh and blood will inherit the kingdom of God. Roman catholics 'assume' that her body was taken to heaven, which cannot be traced from the Scriptures. The bible mentioned the names of people that were taken to heaven without dying: Enoch and Elijah and our Lord Jesus. I do not know why people sheepishly follow a particular doctrine without veryfing its authenticity from the Bible. Remember the Bereans would always go back home and search the Scriptures to know if what Paul (a great man of God) preached to them were actually true (Acts 17). Open your eyes wide so that you will not be deceived. May God help us!

But God is also interested in everything that happens in one's marriage, including sex. A 'true' Christian will know when to strike a balance during sex. Someone can say 'I can do whatever I want to do during sex with my partner.' But note 'all things are lawful to do as far as it is b/w you and your partner, but not all things are expedient (necessary) for you to engage in during sex. Does it mean you push God aside b/c of sexual pleasures and invite Him to come in after sex? As a 'true' Christian, how did you feel when you wanted to engage in such hazardous acts initially? You might have received a prick in your conscience which might have been ignored. As days progressed, it became a norm to you. As many as are led (in everything, including sex, on how to perform any task) by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

What good does one see in sth that can cause serious health challenges? Something can be good but that does not make it right. How can one begin to suck the penis or even vagina that is used for urination? Are they sweets? Do you not consider the microorganism in these parts? Breasts are meant to be fondled as far as you do not inflict wound on your partner, even babies suck them. God is all-knowing and has put in us the natural way to enjoy sex. If we follow our lustful way and go off the natural way, we endanger our lives. Remember God is interested in our health as He is interested in our souls. (3 John 2). There are many ways to enjoy sex but not ones that will put your health in jeopardy, no matter how pleasant such act can be

Hello guys, I want to know if Christians are still required to pay tithes today and why? A friend says that if one does not pay tithes, one's life will be tight. How true is it because I do not pay tithes?

Nature as created by God has taught us restrictions to some forms of sex. Different body parts have their different functions. Any abuse or misuse of any will lead to serious problems. The mouth and the anus are not meant for the penis but only the vagina. This is b/c the vagina becomes lubricated naturally to receive such penetration. God has put everything in place and we know this. What make us seek new ways to explore our partners' bodies through oral or anal sex are lust (always tying new, dangerous ways) and lack of self control. God owns the bodies of the man and woman, even though the body of the man is meant for the wife and vice versa. Even in marriage and during sex, you should know when you have crossed the boundary that nature provides. In christianity, it is not everything that is explicitly written in the Scriptures. This is why the Holy Spirit is in you to guide you into all truth, even when such practices seem 'normal' to the world. Whatever you do,even during sex, do all to God's glory! Self-control is one of the fruit of the Spirit, so exhibit it, so that you will not put your health in danger. Do not let your sexual pleasures lead you astray and away from God.

Why all these noise about prophecies here? As a Christian, do you need prophecies before you know the mind of God. Where is the place of the bible in your life. Isaiah, Jonah and other prophets we quote are from the old testament. God speaks then through these prophets b/c the Holy Spirit has not been poured upon all flesh and the bible has not been compiled. Today, God speaks through his Son, Jesus Christ ( the word of God). Anybody can prophecy anything today and claims that he has heard from God. Some of what he said were speculations which made some false. When a prophet mixes up prophecies with speculations, he contradicts himself and confuses people. A prophet of God says exactly what God tells him adding nothing. Please go and MARRY your Bible, lest you will be deceived. I believe in prophecies but do not live my live on prophecies. Any prophecy that contradicts the word of God is not from God. Our responsibility according to the Bible is to pray for those in leadership and not to to run helter-skelter in search of prophecy. The Bible contains the sure words of prophecy that we need.

There is a difference b/w prophecies from God and speculations. Today, God's word stands as the ultimate and is above any prophecy from anybody. God has the sole right of bringing prophecies to pass or nullifying them. Don't base your life on prophecies if you don't want to be deceived. Hold on to God's word which has sure words of promise. Our duty to Nigeria is to pray for those in leadership and leave the answer for God. I believe in prophecies but I do not live my life on prophecies. Note that prophecies from God are specific and clear, but do not contradict God's word.