Hello John,

Sorry for experiencing initial difficulty in sending your question. The anormally has been rectified.

A tithe payer can choose to record his/her tithe-paying in their private book with the purpose of making sure they do not miss payment. As to the extent of a tithe-payer receiving receipt for what he/she has paid, it is far-fetching. In contrast to the payment we receive receipts for, tithe-paying is to God, and the priesthood should not give receipts on behalf of God. God keeps His own record of payers and non-payers of tithes that is why He cried out in Malachi 3 that the people have robbed Him. God gives us His "receipt", so to say, when He blesses us, according to His Word, for tithe-paying.

The modern church, however, has become so worldly and carnally-minded to the point that they give special preference to those who give much money and disregard those who give little or none. Some even go ahead to refuse to bury their deceased members who paid little or no tithe. The payment of tithe is not for the burial of the people.

Your obligation to God in your local assembly, as a church member, is your tithes, offerings and your presence in church. What differentiates you from visitors to your church is your frequent attendance, tithes and offerings. For this reason, your trustees keep records to know payers and non-payers. That information is vital to the trustees as they seek to know those who are employed and those who are not in order to give appropriate advice and assistance to non-payers and payers alike.

Anytime you remit your parents and they receive the remittance, the money is no more yours but theirs. They must therefore pay tithe on the monies that come their way as you pay tithe on the remuneration that comes from your employer to you.

We are supposed to honour the Lord with all our increase according to Proverbs 3:9.

I thank God for your faith in Him and His Word revealed.

God bless you, John.

a. Hello Maame, it is right there in the Scriptures that unbelief is what is sin. Lying, drinking etc. are the attributes of sin. Romans 14:23 states "And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin". So notice, anything that is not of faith is unbelief which is sin. Anything that is not of faith is sin, and what is not of faith is unbelief. So lying, cheating, drinking, smoking, flirting, etc. are not sin itself but the attributes of sin. The attributes is what men see. Before fruition, there must be a seed to bear those fruits. The seed of sin is unbelief, making unbelief sin. John 3:18 states "He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God".

A person who does these things does not believe in and live by the Word of God. Notice, the Bible does not say, he that smokes, drinks, etc. is already condemned but he that believeth not is already condemned. Just as faith is counted as righteousness (Romans 4:5), unbelief is counted as sin. 1st John 3:9 states "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God". Those who do not believe in the Lord are not His. They are sinners (John 10:26). A person may not drink, fight, fornicate etc. but as long as he does not believe in the Lord and accept His Word, he is a sinner. A person that lies, fornicates etc. has his soul not freed by the Word. He has not been set free. Jude verse 5 states "I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not".

A person that lives in worldly pleasure, without condemnation or conviction, has to ignore the Word of God to live that kind of life. However, there are Christians on the level of justification, who may live ungoldly for a season. In a message, Church Order-1958, God's prophet William Branham said "We believe in justification by faith, Romans 5:1. We believe that after a person being justified by faith, he has peace with the Lord Jesus Christ. But it is possible that this same person could have habits such as drinking, smoking, doing things that he should not do, filthy habits of the flesh. Then we believe that the blood of Jesus Christ sanctifies this person for the service of the Lord. And that's...We believe in sanctification according to Hebrews 13:12 and 13, 'Where Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His Own Blood, suffered without the gate.' And we believe that sanctification is taught in the New Testament, and meant for the believers through the New Testament age, which we are now living. And we also believe that after the person has been sanctified, unclean habits has gone from the person." So you see, if they are God's elects, Grace will find them and they will return to the Word to climb higher to be sanctified by the blood of the Lord Jesus where they lose their worldly desires. They will climb higher still to receive the Holy Ghost baptism.

b. If someone believes the message of the hour but lives in worldly pleasures, that fellow is yet to be sanctified and filled by the Spirit, as quoted from the Prophet's message above. If he is God's elect, he will come all the way to the Holy Ghost. He cannot be lost (John 17:12). If he is not, he will be damned in sin. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 states "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortionists, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." So the elect will live by the Word (fulfill all righteousness) and make it for the rapture.

There are many varying cultures in the world having different reasons for their existence. When a group of people look at other cultures using their own culture as a blue print, things exotic to them appear strange. Every culture has its genesis. Proponent of cultural relativism judge their culture in its own term and therefore see themselves as better "judges" than those who use their culture to judge other cultures.

The point, however, must be strongly made that a Christian is neither an opponent or a proponent of cultural relativism. Christians measure every culture (irrespective of its popular acclamation) in the face of the Word of God. They are defenders and contenders of the faith and not of culture (Jude 1:3). Let us therefore resort to the Bible from which the Christian takes his or her authority.

For instance, there is a scriptural proof for the male to be circumcised when he is born. The Lord Jesus Christ was circumcised after the eight day of His birth (Luke 2:21). There is however no scriptural requirement for the female (or the male) to have their ears bored for the purpose of earrings.

The first time ears were bored was for identification of perpetual slavery (Exodus 21:1-6). In Genesis 35:1-5, when the household of Jacob were about to appear before God, they removed their earrings that were in their ears. In judges 8:24-26, the wearing of earrings is seen as an Ishmaelite sign, not a Nazarene sign. Know that Ishmaelites were not the chosen of the Lord but Nazerenes (Israelites) were the chosen of God.

There is a popular opinion that the earring differentiates the female from the male. There is no where in the Holy Bible that earring is supposed to differentiate a female from a male (Exodus 32:2-4). Those who pierce the ears of the female for the purpose of earrings when she is born are not able to tell the world why they do what they do. In the Bible, what differentiates a male from a female is their clothing (Deuteronomy 22:5) and the length of their hair (1st Corinthians 11:4-15). Earring has never been part of a Christian's dressing from time past. There are others who wear earrings for the vogue of it.

In all this, the Christian has the Word of God (not popular opinion or culture) as his absolute. That's why the Christian is an odd-ball while he sojourns here. It is worldly for the Christian (male or female) to put rings in their ears, nose, lips, eyebrow, navel or any part of the body.

There are those who say because the Lord Jesus has come to die for us, we should not bother ourselves about our dressing, etc. Though this statement sounds convincing, it is not the truth. The truth is that, because the Lord Jesus has already saved us, we should rather be mindful about how we dress, to show that we have been saved and that we are not of the world though we are in it. Our dressing does not save us but it must show forth that we have been saved and that we are not conformed to the world (Romans 12:2).

Thousands of years ago, tablets (coins) in the woman's hair was a sign that she was married. Today, that symbol has changed. Her unbroken circle of a ring around her ring finger symbolizes her unbroken love in marriage. The man wears the same. So it is alright for men and women who are married to wear wedding rings. It is alright also for a Christian woman who is married to put a little chain around her neck. She should however be guided by modesty (1st Timothy 2:9).

It is firmly established by the Bible (1Thess. 5:23) that we have a body, spirit and soul. We should, however, never try to pattern or liken our human spirit to the Holy Spirit. Our Spirit is of the Adamic nature. It is not good. The Holy Spirit, on the contrary, is God in a Spirit form. Before God gives us the Holy Spirit, He renews our Spirit to enable us receive His Spirit (Psalm 51:10, Ezekiel 36:26,27).

Whereas the body and spirit of man are not the real man (but the soul is), every aspect of God is God Himself. May we not dare to do any comparison of the spirit of the unconverted man to any aspect of God.

The Bible confirms that, to the human, the soul is the most important element.

In Hebrews 10:39, our salvation is of the soul, not of the spirit or body. Read also Psalm 34:22 and Psalm 49:8.

In 1st Peter 1:22, it is our soul that is purified when we receive truth of the Word. According to James 5:20 and James 1:21, he that converts a sinner saves his soul. When a man is saved by the Word (Jesus Christ), the Word controls his soul, his soul controls his spirit and his spirit controls his body.

There are five senses to the body: taste, feel, hear, smell and see. There are five senses to the spirit: conscience, reason, imagination, affection and memory. There is one sense to the soul: Faith. Without faith in the Word, the soul dies, though the body may be alive. The soul is only quickened by faith in the Word. That is why a person can show all manifestations of the spirit and yet be dead to the truth of the Word.

Note that when our Lord Jesus died, His body went to the grave (Matthew 27:58-60), His spirit went to the Father (Luke 23:46) and He (the Soul) went to preach to souls in prison (1st Peter 3:18-20). Because the soul is also a spirit (because it cannot be seen) the word "spirit" is sometimes used for the soul (1st Peter 3:19).

Dear John, you so often hear preachers mistakenly refer to the phrase 'sons of God' who fell for the daughters of men, as Angels. It must be noted that Angels as spirit-beings cannot have sexual affair with flesh and blood unless they use a body as Satan used the serpent. It must again be noted that Angels cannot be referred to as sons of God but messengers and servants of God. Hebrews 1:5 states, "For unto which of the Angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?" Sons have inheritance but Angels have no inheritance to the Redemptive work of Christ. The phrase 'daughters of men' also as recorded in Genesis 6:1,2 simply depicts worldly women, descendants of Cain, who had no God in them. The 'sons of God' in that scripture refer to the descendants of Seth and the 'daughters of men', the descendants of Cain. In the same way today, 'sons of God' refer to Christians (not Angels), as 'daughters of men refer to worldly women.