Abraham's Questions May 31

Hey Creekside... thanks for the questions this week.

Q1. I've met people who think Israel has no place in the Kingdom of God, because they crucified Christ.  Right or wrong?

A1. Wrong.  Israel are still God's chosen people.  The New Testament is full of references about God's grace and love fully extended to Israel.  In fact, Paul is so taken with Israel's salvation that he says he would willingly give up his own salvation to see Israel saved. 

Q2. A lot of people think Melchizedek was an incarnation of Christ in the same vein of the Old Testament "Angel of the Lord".  What do you think?

A2. Thanks for your question, and the simple answer is, "I don't know" and no one can know.  What's more, I seldom spend much time on unanswerable questions like this.  It is interesting to think about, but the main point here is that Melchizedek was real and he served as a picture of Christ. 

Q3. Should we tithe before or after taxes?

A3.  Great question and I suggest you look at the booklet I wrote called, "What About Money?" which you can access at www.thecreeksidechurch.org and click on resources.  The real answer to this question is about attitude, not money.  If you are trying to do the bare minimum and only give what you have to, your heart is not following God anyway, so the amount of money you give is the least of your problems.

I heard one person ask, "Should I tithe on the gross or the net?" and the pastor answered, "Do you want a gross blessing or a net blessing?"  Remember, we not only reap WHAT we sow, we also reap HOW we sow.

Thanks, "Creekers" for sending in your questions.  See you on Sunday.

Don