Should Ministers Officiate WEDDINGS and FUNERALS?

Interestingly, there are no references in the Bible to ministers officiating weddings or funerals, including pastors. I point this out because some people seem to think that ministry is mostly about performing one or the other. Evidently God didn’t get the memo.

This is not to say that ministers shouldn’t preside over weddings and funerals. After all, who else better to officiate these ceremonies? So for ministers who are led to oversee weddings and funerals, here are some common sense guidelines:

Since believers are instructed in the Bible to “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15), please rejoice with those who are celebrating a wedding, like Christ did (John 2:1-11), as well as mourn with those who grieve. Be compassionate both publicly and privately. It’s a matter of living in harmony with others (Romans 12:16).
Since it’s the minister’s job to “preach the word…in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2), use the occasion of a wedding or funeral to convey truths from the Scriptures as led of the Spirit. I’m not saying you should have an altar call, just that you can take advantage of the situation to sow God’s Word in the lives of others, like the farmer in the Parable of the Sower (Luke 8:5-15). It’s a matter of being Christ’s ambassador in both joyful settings and somber ones (2 Corinthians 5:20).
At a funeral, if the deceased person was a believer you can emphasize the promise of eternal life (John 3:36 & 1 John 5:11-12), which will naturally encourage family & friends (1 Thessalonians 4:13), not to mention be a ‘witness’ to the unredeemed.
In the event that the deceased was not a believer or his/her spiritual condition was uncertain, do not comment on such things for obvious reasons, but rather use the occasion to share the message of Christ with those present, as led of the Spirit.

This article was edited from…

You can purchase the print version here for only $7.38 (175 pages).
Or get the Kindle eBook here for only 99¢

Both links allow you to LOOK INSIDE the book.

Should Ministers Be Paid?

Should MUSIC MINISTERS Be Paid?

What IS Marriage? (and Related Topics)

Should Ministers Be PAID?

The Bible plainly instructs that ministers must not pursue dishonest gain because that has to do with greed (1 Peter 5:1-4). Christian ministers cannot simultaneously be lovers of money, aka lucre-worshipers (Matthew 6:24, 1 Timothy 3:3 & Titus 1:7). Why? Because people obsessed with money and materialism will naturally take advantage of their position to manipulate others in order to acquire the object of their love, lucre. Even deacons cannot be greedy, which refers to those in helps ministry (1 Timothy 3:8).

Ideally, those effective servant-leaders in the Church who preach and teach should be well paid (1 Corinthians 9:14 & 2 Timothy 2:6). The Bible says they are “worthy of double honor” (1 Timothy 5:17). The Greek for ‘honor’ in this verse is a financial term, shown here.

However, fivefold ministers might have to take up secular work to pay the bills, which is what Paul occasionally did by making tents (Acts 18:3-5). Paul didn’t take collections from the believers in Corinth as a voluntary sacrifice on their behalf (1 Corinthians 9:12, 9:18). He was only able to do this without resorting to secular work because he was receiving finances from other assemblies under his apostleship (2 Corinthians 11:8).

What about Old Testament ministers, did they receive payment for their services? Keep in mind that the history of the Hebrews & Israel chronicled in the Old Testament serve as examples to us, the worldwide Church (Romans 15:4 & 1 Corinthians 10:11). Here are three examples of ministers being respected by people offering financial support in one form or another:

Young Saul (before he became king) and his servant insisted on honorably paying Samuel the priest & prophet for his services (1 Samuel 9:6-8).
The first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Jeroboam, made sure his wife paid the prophet Ahijah with gifts for his services (1 Kings 14:1-3).
The mighty prophet Elisha was rewarded for his services (2 Kings 4:42 & 5:15).

This article was edited from…

You can purchase the print version here for only $7.38 (175 pages).
Or get the Kindle eBook here for only 99¢

Both links allow you to LOOK INSIDE the book.

The Gist on Giving and “Tithing”

Provision, Money and “Prosperity”

Are Some Leaders BEYOND ACCOUNTABILITY?

King Solomon made this observation:

Since a king’s word is supreme, who can say to him, “What are you doing?”

Ecclesiastes 8:4

In other words, when someone is at the top of the proverbial Totem Pole, they have the authority to make decisions and carry them out, regardless of what those under them think or say.

Does this mean that certain leaders are beyond accountability, whether political leaders, business leaders or ministerial leaders? To a point, yes, but only in regards to human accountability since we are all ultimately accountable to our Sovereign Creator and therefore will stand before the LORD at either the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10-11) or at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). This is true whether a person believes in God or not.

The Almighty is the ultimate authority and the Bible often acknowledges this in several ways (Job 9:12; Psalm 50:10-12, 103:19, 93:1, 89:11; Isaiah 37:16; Daniel 4:35; Matthew 11:25). Such passages shows that God is Sovereign, which literally means “reigns supreme” and this explains why God is called the Most High (Psalm 47:2). Despite this, our Creator allows freewill with the understanding that every person is ultimately accountable to the LORD. Even archangels and satan have to give account to the Almighty (Job 1:6 & 2:1). Reflect on it: If the LORD didn’t reign supreme we wouldn’t have to answer to our Creator.

As far as political leaders go — kings, queens, dictators, prime ministers, presidents, governors, mayors, etc. — God permits them to rule for a season for one reason or another (Psalm 75:6-7; Daniel 2:21, 4:25; Romans 13:1). For instance, Ahaz reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years and he was one of the worst kings of Judah or Israel (2 Chronicles 28:1-5), but he was preceded by righteous Jotham, who reigned for 25 years, and succeeded by godly Hezekiah, who reigned 29 years.

While’s it’s frustrating and challenging to function under a corrupt authority, whether in your nation, city/town, occupation or even ministry, we’re not helpless. You can conduct spiritual warfare through intercession or confronting & correcting, assuming it’s viable to do the latter. You can also remove yourself from the situation and plant your life elsewhere, like move to a new country/region or get a different job, including starting your own business. No matter what you do, though, you’ll likely still have to deal with corrupt authorities in one way or another. It’s a fact of living in a fallen world.

Consider these contrasting examples from the Bible of dealing with corrupt leaders in Israel: After King David’s adultery with Bathsheba and his failed attempts to get valiant Uriah to sleep with Bathsheba to cover up his sin, David contacted Israel’s military commander, Joab, and instructed him to put Uriah in the front line, where the fighting was fiercest, and then have the other soldiers withdraw so Uriah would die in battle. This is murder in an indirect form, but murder nevertheless. Joab should have rejected this wicked order since Uriah was a noble, brave warrior, but he instead chose to be a pathetic “yes man” (2 Samuel 11:14-21). Shortly later, the prophet Nathan refused to be like this. He boldly confronted David’s corruption and spoke the truth, come what may (2 Samuel 12:1-14).

Joab failed to hold the King accountable whereas Nathan did. When you see corruption in the leadership of the body of Christ you can either weakly go along with it, like Joab, or hold the person accountable whatever the cost, like Nathan. If you choose the former you’ll have to answer for it at the Judgment Seat because the Lord will hold you accountable.

When you think about it, though, we’re all “kings” or “queens” in a sense. Even if you’re a subordinate at work, you run the show in your own abode, which recalls the saying “A man’s home is his castle.” (Keep in mind that ‘man’ in the biblical sense can refer to male and/or female depending on context; see Genesis 1:27 for proof).

Even if you are subordinate in the place you live, you are the ruler of your mind, actions, body and tongue. You choose what to think about or not think about every minute of every day. You choose what you do or don’t do, how you react or don’t react, what you wear or don’t wear, what you eat and how much you eat. You choose what you say and don’t say, including if you unjustly lie, negatively spin something or slander someone with premature judgments and half-truths. While it’s true that your choices are limited in some cases, such as what you eat or wear, you nevertheless have freewill to choose.

Your thought life is your personal domain. Even if you’re imprisoned in a small room, you choose what to meditate on. This isn’t some small thing when you consider how your thoughts run your life (Proverbs 4:23 NCV).

We began this article with a quote from Solomon from the book of Ecclesiastes. Let’s end with another one, which relates to all these things that you have authority over:

¹³Now all has been heard;

here is the conclusion of the matter:

Fear God and keep his commandments,

for this is the duty of all mankind.

¹⁴For God will bring every deed into judgment,

including every hidden thing,

whether it is good or evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

If Healing Comes by Faith, Why Use ANOINTING OIL, HANDKERCHIEFS, etc.?

The covenant (contract) that the believer has with God thru Christ is a covenant of faith (Hebrews 11:6, Romans 4:16 & Galatians 3:6-9) and so everything we receive in our covenant is by faith, including eternal salvation (Ephesians 2:8) and answers to prayer (Mark 11:22-24). The same goes for receiving a healing, as observed in these two examples:

He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Mark 5:34

“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Mark 10:52

In both cases Christ was the conduit of God’s healing power — the channel through which divine power flowed — yet Jesus didn’t say that he healed them, but rather they were healed via faith, which is belief. The Messiah was simply the conduit of God’s healing power. In short, a person or even a thing can be a channel of God’s power, yet this doesn’t change the fact that faith is the key for a person to receive and maintain a healing, which can be observed in this passage:

¹³Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. ¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.

James 5:13-15

Notice that it does not say the elder or the anointing oil heals the sick person, but rather the prayer offered in faith.

It was pointed out above that a person or even a thing can be a conduit of God’s power, which can be observed in the early days of the Church wherein Paul touched certain articles, like handkerchiefs and aprons, and these “were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them” (Acts 19:11-12). It was the same thing with Peter’s shadow (Acts 5:15-16). These things had the anointing of God on them and thus physically or mentally ill people exposed to them were healed and demons fled!

Yet the Bible stresses that the believer can receive something by faith directly from God without any conduit, including an awesome healing. Christ plainly said: “whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24). If this is so, why do we need conduits of God’s healing power, whether a person or a thing, such as elders and handkerchiefs? Obviously because certain people need something physical — whether a person or thing — to bolster there faith and thus successfully receive. It’s just the way it is and has to do with where a person is at as far as their spiritual growth goes.

Here’s a 23-minute video that goes over these things in further detail (the issue of conduits of God’s healing power is covered from the 8:00-minute mark to about the 11:21 mark):

If you are interested in being a conduit of God’s healing power you can learn details about the laying on of hands in this article, just scroll down to the section 4. The Laying on of Hands.

What about receiving a healing via the gifts of the Spirit?

Even if a person receives a healing through the manifestation of a gift of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) they’re going to have to learn faith if they want to maintain their healing. Remember, everything in our covenant with God is by faith.

Verse 11 plainly points out that the gifts of the Spirit are distributed to believers “as the Spirit determines.” In other words, a believer (anyone who’s ministering to people in need of a healing or what have you) cannot turn ‘on’ a gift of the Spirit at will; rather the gifts of the Spirit manifest as the Spirit wills and this is in response to the faith of the ministering believer and their calling. For details on receiving a healing through the manifestation of a gift of the spirit, see this article, just scroll down to the section on Healing.

Interestingly, the Pool of Béthesda was a type of the gifts of the Spirit, which you can read about here.

The GENESIS CURSE Is Not God’s Law, but Rather a Divine Curse

Those who teach/preach from the Holy Scriptures are instructed to “rightly divide” or “correctly handle” them (2 Timothy 2:15). If it’s possible to rightly divide God’s word it’s also possible to unrightly divide it; that is, misinterpret the Scriptures and spread error. The problem with error is that it cannot set people free; only the truth sets free, as the Lord said (John 8:31-32).

This is relevant to our topic because some sincere ministers have wrongly taught that the “Genesis curse” from chapter 3 of the book of Genesis is tantamount to God’s Law. In other words, they claim it applies to God’s commands to humanity (or, at least, some of it does). But this is not the case. The passage involves the LORD’s curse on humanity as a consequence of sin. Let’s read the account:

¹⁴So the LORD God said to the serpent:

“Because you have done this,

cursed are you above all livestock

and every beast of the field!

On your belly will you go,

and dust you will eat,

all the days of your life.

¹⁵And I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your seed and her seed.

He will crush your head,

and you will strike his heel.”

¹⁶To the woman He said:

“I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth;

in pain you will bring forth children.

Your desire will be for your husband,

and he will rule over you.”

¹⁷And to Adam He said:

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife

and have eaten from the tree

of which I commanded you not to eat,

cursed is the ground because of you;

through toil you will eat of it

all the days of your life.

¹⁸Both thorns and thistles it will yield for you,

and you will eat the plants of the field.

¹⁹By the sweat of your brow

you will eat your bread,

until you return to the ground—

because out of it were you taken.

For dust you are,

and to dust you shall return.”

²⁰And Adam named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living.

Genesis 3:14-20

When God pronounced to Eve that “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you” (verse 16) the Creator was issuing a warning to Eve, not giving a command to Adam! In other words, God was not giving Adam (and men in general) permission to be tyrants over the women in their lives. The LORD was basically saying: “Beware, Eve, man is now going to try to dominate you and your female descendants.”

This tendency is in the flesh of all males. You can even see it in boys who naturally try to dominate their mothers (which they don’t do with their fathers, generally speaking, and wisely so). I know because I myself did this when I was a kid. Don’t get me wrong, the masculine spirit is good — God called it “very good” along with everything else that was created (Genesis 1:31) — but the flesh, the sinful nature, perverts all good things.

We must understand that this section of Scripture — Genesis 3:14-19 — is a divine proclamation concerning the result of humanity now being fallen. In other words it was a prophetic curse due to transgression — not a blessing or a command — which is why this section of Scripture is called “the Genesis curse.” Nothing in this proclamation is a moral law like “You shall not commit adultery” or “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:14-15), rather it’s a divine judgment — a curse — on the serpent/satan for deception and on Adam & Eve for their sin. The only sense that any proclamation in Genesis 3:14-19 is “Law” is that it is contained in the section of Scripture known as the Law or Pentateuch, aka the first five books of the Bible. The fact that some ministers refer to Genesis 3:16 as “Law” or a “blessing” is laughable. I can’t help but suspect they have issues with misogyny.

We’re going to focus on the LORD’s proclamation to Adam & Eve rather than satan since humanity has the potential for redemption whereas satan is incorrigible (you can read details here). God was conveying the general way it will be for them & their progeny — humanity — in a fallen world, not the way it should be or has to be. For instance…

The LORD said to Eve that he would “sharply increase your pain in childbirth,” but this doesn’t mean that a woman and those who are assisting her medically shouldn’t do everything in their power to ease her pain during childbirth.
The LORD said “in pain you will bring forth children,” but this doesn’t mean that a woman has to have children or will have children. What about women who can’t find a husband? What about women who have no interest in having sex with men? What about women who want to forsake marriage & children in order to devote their lives to God à la 1 Corinthians 7:34? What about women who can’t have children for one reason or another? What about women who simply have no desire to bear & raise children?
The LORD said “Your desire will be for your husband,” but this clearly doesn’t mean that every woman will desire a husband.
The LORD said “and he will rule over you,” but this doesn’t mean he ought to rule over her.
The LORD said to Adam “cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life,” but this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t improve agriculture quality and production, nor does it mean that people since that time have to limit their diet to fruits & vegetables.
The LORD said “through toil you will eat,” but this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t reduce the amount of needless toil in our work in order to make a living. The biblical book of wisdom says “The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, without painful toil for it” (Proverbs 10:22).
The LORD said “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread,” but this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t find ways to reduce the amount of sweat it takes to earn a living.
Lastly, the LORD said in the latter part of verse 19 that death is now a reality for humanity obviously because “the wages of sin is death,” but this doesn’t mean that there aren’t exceptions to suffering physical death, like Enoch (Genesis 5:21-24), Elijah (2 Kings 2:11) and those who will be raptured (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Nor does it mean that we shouldn’t reconcile with God through the message of Christ to escape eternal death (Romans 6:23; John 3:16).

In short, these statements are general truths about the way life will be in a fallen world due to Adam & Eve’s sin — called “original sin” by theologians — but they are not absolutes nor are they moral laws or blessings. They warn of the way it will generally be in this cursed physical reality, but not the way it should be or has to be or will always be. Are you following?

Can a Christian Be PERFECT?

While every spiritually-reborn believer is “made complete in Christ” (Colossians 2:10), there’s no such thing as a perfect Christian in this fallen world, not in a practical sense. The Bible says point blank that every believer misses it now & then no matter how spiritually mature s/he may be:

⁸If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

1 John 1:8-10

Other passages testify to this as well:

Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.

Ecclesiastes 7:20

“…for there is no one who does not sin…”

1 Kings 8:46

A popular international minister said that he hanged out with many of the top ministers you can name in America and stressed that every single one of them had a down side. In other words, each had areas where they were less than exemplary, including specific flesh issues. Yet this is different than saying they were involved with gross sin. Fivefold ministers — apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11-13) — should be freed-up from major sin issues, which is accomplished through learning to walk in the spirit on a regular basis and becoming spiritually mature.

This explains the qualifications for leaders in the body of Christ detailed in the epistles (1 Timothy 3:1-7 & Titus 1:5-9). Although all fivefold ministers have their limitations and miss it now & then, there’s a difference between this and habitually failing in a major moral area or willfully living in the flesh. Obviously if a fivefold minister, like a pastor, isn’t freed-up from the flesh they’re not going to be able to help others walk free since a person can only give what they’ve got. It’s a simple principle: If you’re not free, you can’t help someone else be free.

The qualifications cited for overseers in Titus 1:5-9 say that the minister must be “blameless,” but blameless is not the same as sinless since every believer will miss it now & then, as already covered.

The key to keeping yourself blameless before the LORD is twofold:

Be quick to humbly ’fess up when you miss it (1 John 1:9) and God will be faithful & just to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness, which means you’ll once again be righteous in the Lord’s sight and even “free from accusation” (Colossians 1:22). This is what the Bible calls “keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8 & Luke 3:8). Some other key passages include Psalm 32:5 and Proverbs 28:13.
Stay away from “willful sins” (Psalm 19:13). There’s a difference between a person struggling with a certain sin, yet humbly keeping with repentance, and a person who regularly engages in willful sin. The word ‘willful’ in the Hebrew is zed (ZAYD), which means arrogant, proud, presumptuous or insolent. In other words, people who commit a willful sin know it’s a sin but still do it and aren’t sorry about practicing it. This is “great transgression” in God’s eyes, as David put it, and will eventually incur judgment if the individual continues to walk in it with no care of repentance (Galatians 6:7-8).

It’s crucial to keep yourself blameless before your Maker in this manner. Interestingly, only humble people can do this because it takes humility to honestly admit that you’ve missed it and confess accordingly. Arrogant people, by contrast, have a very difficult time admitting that they’ve made a mistake, how much more so revealing that they’ve sinned? This explains something that Scripture emphasizes repeatedly: “God opposes the proud but shows favor [grace] to the humble” (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5 & Proverbs 3:34).

Put simply, arrogance repels God while humility attracts God (Isaiah 66:2).

You could say that the LORD is only close to the humble and this explains why only humble people are greatly used of God, like Moses (Numbers 12:3) and David (1 Samuel 18:23). Yet please understand that, while humility is meekness, it’s not weakness. On the contrary, it’s spiritual strength.

So, while no believer can be morally perfect in a practical sense in this “present evil age” (Galatians 1:4), they can certainly grow spiritually wherein they walk humbly and blamelessly before their Creator and others.

Understanding positional truths will help the believer grow spiritually and walk free of the flesh. A positional truth reveals the believer’s position in covenant with God and therefore how God sees him/her in Christ. A good example is Colossians 1:22, which says that the believer is “holy in God’s sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” When believers grasp that the LORD sees them as holy, without blemish and free from accusation — and accepts this by faith — it has a positive impact on their identity in Christ and therefore their practical lifestyle. You can learn more about position truths in this video.

Who Is MELCHIZEDEK? How Was He a Type of Christ?

Melchizedek was priest-king of Salem in Canaan during the time of Abram. He’s mentioned a few times in Scripture, starting with the following passage wherein Melchizedek met with Abram in the Valley of Shaveh to honor him after Abram’s militia impressively defeated King Kedorlaomer of Elam and the kings allied with him:

¹⁸Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, ¹⁹and he blessed Abram, saying,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,

Creator of heaven and earth.

²⁰And praise be to God Most High,

who delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Genesis 14:18-20

The name Melchizedek means “righteous king” and he was the spiritual and political leader of Jerusalem when it was called Salem, aka Shalem, which means “peace” or “peaceful.” Psalm 76:2 offers evidence that Salem and Jerusalem are one-and-the-same. Jerusalem, incidentally, means “possession of peace” or “foundation of peace” and is first mentioned in the Bible in Joshua 10:1.

What God Did Melchizedek Serve?

Melchizedek spoke of the Almighty as “God Most High” in the above passage, but Abram spoke of the Creator as “LORD God Most High” in the same context (verse 22). In other words, Melchizedek knew about the Most High and spoke of God in terms of titles, yet Abram knew God personally and so used God’s name, YHWH.* Abram is of course better known as Abraham (Genesis 17:5)

* Even though Abram & other patriarchs knew the Creator by name (Genesis 9:26, 12:8, 22:14, 24:12, etc.) they didn’t know God in the fuller sense that their descendants would, as disclosed in Exodus 6:3; cf. Genesis 4:26.

Melchizedek in the Book of Hebrews

The intriguing priest-king of Salem is also mentioned in the book of Hebrews in 5:1-10 and here:

¹This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, ²and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” ³Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.

⁴Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! ⁵Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are descended from Abraham. ⁶This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. ⁷And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater. ⁸In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. ⁹One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, ¹⁰because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.

¹¹If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood—and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood—why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? ¹²For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. ¹³He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. ¹⁵And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, ¹⁶one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷For it is declared:

“You are a priest forever,

in the order of Melchizedek.”

Hebrews 7:1-17

Melchizedek is revealed to be a type of Christ in this passage. A ‘type’ simply means a person or thing that foreshadows someone or something else.

Verse 3 curiously says that Melchizedek didn’t have a beginning or end. Obviously he did since he was a human being, but there was no record of his father or mother, which is why he was said to be “without genealogy,” thus he became a symbol of the coming Christ, a high priest forever with no beginning and no ending; in other words, immortal in the absolute sense (Psalm 90:2 & 1 Timothy 6:16).

Verse 17, by the way, is a quote of Psalm 110:4.

Genesis 14:20 is the First Mention of ‘Tithing’ in the Bible

To ‘tithe‘ literally means to give 10% of your earnings (presumably to God via a representative) and we see that Abram gave 10% of the plunder of his victory to Melchizedek, who symbolizes Christ, the Head of the Church (Colossians 1:18). This was well before the Mosaic Law and illustrates that tithing is a wise principle of thankfulness, generosity and honor. Abraham is the Father of Faith while New Covenant believers are children of faith (Romans 4:16). Believers should only give if, like Abraham, they can do so cheerfully and free of pressure (2 Corinthians 9:7). You can read important details about New Covenant giving and tithing here (please keep in mind that New Covenant believers are not under the Law).

Why did Abram give Melchizedek 10% of his plunder? Because he was full of gratitude to the Sovereign God, who granted him a great victory, not to mention deliverance for Lot, his nephew. Since Melchizedek was obviously a priest of the one, true God and Abram recognized his authenticity, that’s whom he honored. He interestingly didn’t treat the king of Sodom in like manner (Genesis 14:21-23).

Further Insights About Melchizedek

This intriguing priest-king of Canaan illustrates that the LORD can reach people with sincere hearts even in a pagan world.

Melchizedek, incidentally, is also mentioned in Hebrews 6:20.

Did the Hebrews BREAK THE SABBATH When They Sacked Jericho?

The question applies to the Hebrews taking of the city of Jericho on the Sabbath, as detailed here:

²Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. ³March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. ⁴Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. ⁵When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”

Joshua 6:2-5

The law of the Sabbath — the day of of rest (Exodus 20:8-11) — was already established when Joshua led troops into Canaan to conquer it. However, this law wasn’t applicable on this particular occasion for these reasons:

The Hebrews were at war at the moment due to God’s just judgment on the Canaanites after hundreds of years of gracious mercy (see Genesis 15:16).
Since the LORD is the One who gave the Sabbath command He can override the day of rest when necessary, which was essentially Jesus’ point in Luke 6:5.
The Hebrews were following the LORD’s instruction to march around Jericho seven times on the Sabbath and take the city.

Law (Torah) — New Testament Believers are NOT Under the Law

Legalism — Understanding Its Many Forms

The Basics of Christianity

What Is KJV ONLY? What’s Wrong With It?

Christians who are “KJV Only” are people who view the King James Version of the Bible as the only legitimate English translation. It should be stressed that KJV Only people can live and die as genuine believers, loved of the Lord. The principle of Romans 14:3 applies here so we need to be careful not to be contemptuous of our fellow brothers & sisters regardless of what their position is on this matter (it goes both ways).

It should also be stressed that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with using the King James Version (KJV) in your studies. We quote it here at Fountain of Life from time to time and I’ve used it as my daily reading Bible a 3-4 times over the years.

The Main Drawback of KJV Only

This main issue with being KJV Only is that it can hinder people’s acquisition of truth because it limits their studies to a human translation of the God-breathed Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16). Truth is alétheia (ah-LAY-thee-ah) in the Greek, which means “reality,” aka the way it really is. Since Christ stressed how “the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32) it’s not wise for a person to limit their access to scriptural truth due to misguided allegiance to a translation of the original God-breathed Scriptures.

Speaking of which…

Only the Original Hebrew & Greek Scriptures Are “God-Breathed,” Not Translations of Them

Only the original Hebrew & Greek Scriptures are “God-breathed,” not a particular translation of them into another language by a person or a group of people. For anyone to argue that the KJV is also “God-breathed” in the sense that every word in it was inspired by God as the translators were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21), this simply isn’t true. There’s no verse in Scripture that says something like “Yay, in many centuries to come I will raise up a band of men who will translate the God-breathed Scriptures perfectly into the lingua franca of those times. Let not anyone else translate the Scriptures into this same language or update it, for that is an abomination.”

Let’s face it, any human translation of the original Hebrew/Greek Scriptures into another language is going to have its issues, no matter how great it is. And the KJV was indeed great for its time. This is augmented if the translators are all from one sect, which was the case with the KJV wherein the 47 scholars who translated it were of the Church of England and under the oversight of King James. The Church of England, if you’re not aware, broke away from the Roman Church in the mid-1500s and at the time was basically the English version of the Catholic Church.

The obvious issue with these translators of the KJV being from the same sect is the potential bias of sectarianism. Interestingly, it’s estimated that about 80% of the KJV stems from William Tyndale’s translation from 1528. Tyndale was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1515, but turned Protestant with the Reformation, which officially began two years later. You can read about Tyndale’s great contributions to Christianity here.

Since any translation of the original God-breathed Scriptures is going to have its issues, it’s best for those wanting to find the truth on any given subject to use several translations in their studies and look up the key Hebrew & Greek terms when pertinent, plus see how these words are used in different contexts in the Scriptures. Doing so reflects the “Berean spirit” (Acts 17:10-12).

We have to be careful here to distinguish between those who simply favor the KJV and those who are staunchly KJV Only. The latter argue that the Scripture texts available at the time to write the KJV (also used by Tyndale in his version) are the only reliable sources for the Holy Scriptures, but most KJV Only folk reject other translations based on these same texts, like the NKJV, KJ21 and MEV, all of which they curiously deem as sacrilegious as the NAS, NIV and other relatively recent translations.

KJV Only people evidently think the LORD only ordains one translation of the Hebrew, Aramaic & Greek Scriptures per language group which, frankly, is absurd. Such a position naturally suggests that English-speaking Christians are in bondage to this translation even though it’s over 400 years old and contains archaic verbiage that modern English-speakers can barely understand.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Studies of the Scriptures

My humble advice to believers is to continue in God’s Word and put it into practice (John 8:31-32). Don’t use just one translation; compare the translations and look up the Hebrew & Greek words when questions arise concerning the meaning of a particular word or phrase.

Everyone naturally has a favorite translation, but I encourage switching translations from time to time as far as regular reading goes. For instance, I’m currently using the NKJV for daily reading (for studies, however, I use several translations). This keeps things fresh and prevents any one translation from becoming a veritable idol. It also provides a more balanced view of what God’s Word says. KJV Only people, by contrast, put themselves in a confining box of explicitly trusting the translation work of 47 scholars from the Church of England from over 400 years ago.

As far as looking up the original Hebrew & Greek goes, lexicons and interlinear texts are readily available. I encourage the use of Bible Hub on the internet and other such sites, which provide free and easy access to these study helps. For instance, here is John 3:16 according to 28 prominent English versions on Bible Hub. From there you can conveniently click to any of the 28 versions offered and also access lexicons (e.g. the Strong’s) and interlinear texts via the tool bar at the top. For those not familiar with interlinear Scriptures, they parallel the original Hebrew/Greek text with another language in alternate lines. Here is an example of John 3:13.

Criticizing Translations

Every single translation of the original God-breathed Scriptures can be nitpicked, including the KJV. I could cite clear evidence of problematic translating in the KJV based on sectarian bias, but I’m not going to do so. Instead, I humbly encourage believers to grow in God’s Word and put it into practice, year after year. Improve your studies — and your spiritual growth — by implementing the pointers noted above. You’ll be blessed.

When comparing some modern versions of the Bible with the KJV, there are some “missing” verses, such as in the NIV. Yet these “missing verses” are always cited in the footnotes; so these verses are not actually missing (since they’re in the footnotes). But why were they omitted from the main text in the first place? Here’s why:

The KJV was originally published in 1611 and it was a great achievement for that period as the translators used the best sources accessible at the time. Yet one of the KJV’s weaknesses is that the translation committee of 47 scholars drew heavily from William Tyndale’s Bible, which explains why 80% of Tyndale’s verbiage was transferred to the KJV (76% of the Old Testament and 83% of the New Testament). Tyndale utilized several sources in his translation. For the New Testament, he used Desiderius Erasmus’s Greek New Testament, aka the Textus Receptus (“received text” in Latin), specifically the third edition from 1522.

In the centuries since 1611 myriad older scriptural texts have surfaced and were painstakingly examined by scholars. They concluded that these earlier manuscripts are naturally more trustworthy. So contemporary translators have access to scriptural documents much nearer in time to the original manuscripts. As such, modern translations like the original NIV actually offer superior biblical scholarship than was available in the early 1600s when the KJV was produced. You can read details here.

Staunch KJV Only folks curiously object to revisions. Yet it is necessary to periodically revise works in order to fix issues from previous renditions, not to mention keep relevant. Should they not correct issues? Should they not update to stay relevant while maintaining faithfulness to the original Scriptures?

The KJV itself has had myriad corrections since 1611. In its original form, it’s virtually unreadable to modern English speakers. Go here for details.

Conclusion

The KJV was fine for its time, but its day is long over. While it’s serviceable for reference in one’s studies — and I often use it in this regard — it’s no longer effective as far as public ministry goes, unless of course you’re exclusively serving people already familiar with the KJV. The archaic lingo and phasing is simply too alien to modern English-speakers. It should have been retired from public service in the early 1800s (or, at least, the early 1900s) let alone the early 2000s.

Should Ministers Officiate WEDDINGS and FUNERALS?

This article was edited from…

Should Ministers Be PAID?

This article was edited from…

Are Some Leaders BEYOND ACCOUNTABILITY?

Related Topics:

If Healing Comes by Faith, Why Use ANOINTING OIL, HANDKERCHIEFS, etc.?

What about receiving a healing via the gifts of the Spirit?

Related Topics:

The GENESIS CURSE Is Not God’s Law, but Rather a Divine Curse

Related Topics:

Can a Christian Be PERFECT?

Related Topics:

Who Is MELCHIZEDEK? How Was He a Type of Christ?

What God Did Melchizedek Serve?

Melchizedek in the Book of Hebrews

Genesis 14:20 is the First Mention of ‘Tithing’ in the Bible

Further Insights About Melchizedek

Related Topics:

Did the Hebrews BREAK THE SABBATH When They Sacked Jericho?

What Is KJV ONLY? What’s Wrong With It?

The Main Drawback of KJV Only

Only the Original Hebrew & Greek Scriptures Are “God-Breathed,” Not Translations of Them

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Studies of the Scriptures

Criticizing Translations

Conclusion

Related Topics:

Menu: