• QUESTION: What about t.v. ? Should a Christian have one in his house?

• ANSWER: Television is simply a means of communication. Television is not good or bad in and of itself. It is a package of electronics housed in plastic, metal or wood. It sits wherever you place it. You or someone else in your house has to turn it on and off.

  Television viewing in the average American household is estimated at between seven and eight hours a day. Christians should judge for themselves if they are spending their time wisely. What programs do you watch? What programs do your children watch? Is the TV viewing helping or hurting the people watching it? It won't take a Christian long to know whether a television program is good or bad for them. It won't take a Christian parent long to know whether a TV program is good or bad for their children.

  Television is not mentioned in the Bible, so we have no direct command about whether Christians should or should not have a television in their homes. The Bible has no recommendation about how much time Christians should spend watching their TV. What should Christians do when modern life gives us a challenge the ancient Bible doesn't address by name? I suggest this for starters:

  "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice, and the God of peace will be with you."

  Philippians 4:8-9

  Every Christian is free in Christ to determine how they will spend their time. We should use that freedom to bring Glory to God. God's Word will guide you in your decision about television.

• QUESTION: What about restitution? How do you know if you need to make restitution?

• ANSWER: Restitution is "an act of restoring or a condition of being restored: as a restoration of something to its rightful owner or making good of or giving an equivalent for some injury."

  The Mosaic Law has many laws concerning making restitution. Exodus Chapter 22, Leviticus Chapters 5, 6, 22 and 24, and Numbers Chapter 5 are examples of what the Law commanded about restitution. However, the Apostle Paul wrote that Christians are under Grace and not under Law. So, does that mean we don't have to make restitution if we wrong or injure someone?

  Grace teaches us to live the highest form of life. That includes being honest and doing the right thing. Making restitution is being honest and doing the right thing. If we have wronged someone, we should make it right. Here are some verses that remind us of what we should do to others.

  "In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us."

  Titus 2:7-8

  "Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men...And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good."

  Titus 3:1-2, 8

  "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body...He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need."

  Ephesians 4:25, 28

  "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord."

  Ephesians 5:8-10

  "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interest, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus."

  Philippians 2:1-5

  Making restitution to another person, especially another Christian, is part of having Christ's attitude. That includes forgiving others who may do wrong to you.

  "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

  Colossians 3:12-14

  Doing good things to others comes from Love. Love is why we do good things for other people. God's Love flowing through our hearts and minds leads us to do what's best for others.

  "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

  Galatians 5:13-14

  Making restitution to someone you've wronged is demonstrating your love for God, for them and for yourself. It is the "right" thing to do.

• QUESTION: What are your feelings on Catholics?

• ANSWER: I love them. I feel deeply about their spiritual interests and needs. Many of the Catholics I've known have a deep love for God. Others don't. I've found the same true with other religious people.

  I agree with some Catholic teaching, especially their belief in the Triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), their belief in the Diety of Jesus Christ and the Saving Power of His Death and Resurrection.

  I disagree with other Catholic teaching, including the Mass, Transubstantiation, Purgatory, Limbo, Infant Baptism, the Virgin Mary, the Pope, Church Government and Laws.

  The first and most important concern I have for Catholics is personal salvation. Paul made it clear that people are saved in only one way: by Grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. It is the "gift" of God, not of works. No one will be saved because of the church they join or how they're baptized. Salvation is between each person and God. Any church that teaches a different Gospel than the one Paul preached is wrong.

  Many of the Catholics I've spoken with believe with all their hearts that their salvation comes through the Catholic church. Years ago I visited a Catholic man and his son. The man showed me a picture in his Bible. The picture showed a person stepping through the front door of a Catholic church. The caption of the picture was "The Way to Salvation." I opened the man's Catholic Bible to Romans 3 and Ephesians 2 and read to him about the True Salvation of God. Going through the door of a church has nothing to do with it. Salvation is a gift God gives to those who believe that His Son died on the cross for their sins and rose from the grave to give them Eternal Life: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast."

  God has given to us the "message of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us." God is making his appeal to all people, including Catholics. He makes that appeal through us, His ministers of reconciliation.

  If you are reading this and are a Catholic, I invite you to write us at GraceLife. We have no interest in changing your religion. Our interest is that you are reconcilied to Christ. We would love to share with you about how you can be saved by Grace through faith and become an eternal member of the Body of Christ. It has nothing to do with church membership and everything to do with a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe. Write us, please.

• QUESTION: What does it mean to be in Christ but not in the Body of Christ?

• ANSWER: That is not possible. To be "in" Christ means to also be "in" the Body of Christ. Paul taught that every true believer was "in" Christ and a member of the Church, the Body of Christ.

  "Therefore, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."

  Romans 8:1-2

  "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

  Romans 12:4-5

  "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink...Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."

  1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 27

  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them."

  2 Corinthians 5:16-19

  "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."

  Galatians 2:20

  "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gree, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are one in Christ Jesus."

  Galatians 3:26-28

  "And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way."

  Ephesians 1:22-23

  "This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus."

  Ephesians 3:6

  "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work...Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body."

  Ephesians 4:11-16, 25

  "For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior...for we are members of his body."

  Ephesians 5:23, 30

  "And he is the head of the body, the church...Now I rejoice in what suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church...To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

  Colossians 1:18, 24, 27

  "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace."

  Colossians 3:15

  These are just some of the proofs from Paul's writings that true believers in Christ Jesus are "in" Christ and are members of the Church, Christ's Body. We have everything in Christ!

• QUESTION: Then what about Romans 16:7 where Paul states that Andronicus and Junia were in Christ before Paul himself? What does Paul mean by that if he is the first member of the body of Christ?

• ANSWER: I answered your question based on a "now" perspective. Could someone be "in" Christ now but not be "in" the Body of Christ? The answer to that question is "no."

  Andronicus and Junias are mentioned once in Scripture; here in Romans 16:7. Their names are Greek, so they probably were born and raised outside Israel. The term "relatives" is suggeneis . The word was used both for blood relatives and fellow nationals (of the same country). If they were Paul's blood relatives, they would have been Jewish by birth. They may have been born in Tarsus, as was Paul.

  Jews from many countries gathered in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-11). Andronicus and Junias may have been some of the people who believed in Christ on that day or the days following. The persecution of believers years later forced many into other countries where they preached the Kingdom of God to Jews. Andronicus and Junias may have believed in Christ through their ministry. Kingdom believers were "in" Christ, though not in Body of Christ. Peter wrote to "God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood." Those scattered were Jews from Israel who were scattered by persecution. Peter ended his first letter to them with "Peace to all of you who are in Christ." These Kingdom believers were also "in" Christ.

  Andronicus and Junias believed in Christ before Paul, but they would not have understood the Gospel of Grace until Paul revealed it to them. Paul returned to Tarsus after he left Jerusalem (Acts 9:30). He lived in that region for many years. We know little about what Paul did between Jerusalem and Antioch, but ministering to his family and fellow countrymen is certainly something he would have done. Paul's ministry to Andronicus and Junias apparently brought them into the Body of Christ and even made them Apostles of Grace. Paul said they were "outstanding" among the Apostles. They labored with Paul and were in prison with him. Paul was thankful for them.

  I can't go much further with an answer to your question because we have only one mention of Andronicus and Junias in the Bible. However, we will have the opportunity to meet them in Heaven and learn more about their fascinating journey with Christ.

Last Updated: 12/20/1999