The question asked by the professor was "Do these things still apply today"?

1 Corinthians 7:25-28
25. Now concerning virgins I have no command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy.
26. I think then that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is.
27. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife.
28. But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you. Paraphrased, God did not tell me what to tell you, but this is my opinion. Listen because God has given me wisdom and genuine concern for your well being.


I believe the application is relevant to both cultures, as the Corinthian was said to be of loose morals and far from being chaste, (I know your saying that’s not like our culture today.)

Paul touches on the ”distress” of the present time which was that Christians were persecuted and marriage would have made life more difficult for those having to also care for spouse and family.

On the other hand Paul is saying that despite the “distress of the times” married people were not to divorce simply to make their life easier; a very relevant lesson for our day as well, no?

Paul goes on to say that despite the distress of the time it was not a sin to marry nor would it be so in this time; he was affirming the value of marriage, and the value of the celibate life. Paul had much to say about marriage as the scriptures show he felt people should stay unattached to better spread the gospel. He also clearly stated that it was better to wed then to burn with desire, which can cause us to sin. Clearly appropriate for our day as well as his.



Proverbs 22:15

15. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.
“Beat him it won’t kill him”, as my mother used to say to my father.

True discipline is one of the purest forms of expressing love for a child. (I was loved a lot as a child.) This is evident in the fact that God chastens those whom he loves. We are born with this heart of rebellion and the rod of discipline is God’s way of turning us from that rebellion. “Foolishness” is contrary to right reasoning. It is in every child at birth, and it will not be driven out by gentle measures. This truth is applicable to all generations and all cultures.

1 Corinthians 11:2-16

2. Now I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you.
3. But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.
4. Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head.
5. But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved.
6. For if a woman does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head.
7. For a man ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.
8. For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man;
9. for indeed man was not created for the woman's sake, but woman for the man's sake.
10. Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.
11. However, in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.
12. For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from God.
13. Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
14. Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him,
15. but if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her? For her hair is given to her for a covering.
16. But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God.

Well here we go, let me first say “In Christ there is no male or female”. What that has to do with our position in the family is irrelevant. But as sure as I know that the sun will rise in the morning, someone will throw that out there to negate every other scripture that puts positions on men and women. All these things stated in the scriptures are relevant for this day as well as the time this was written.

There are, however, differences in the manner in which these things apply. In this culture we believe that hair length or head coverings are not relevant to positional submission. When I was a young boy positional submission reflected by head coverings still was very much the case. Culture has changed our out look but I am not convinced culture is right on this point. I believe women have a subordinate role to men still just as men are subordinate to Christ, still. And being that God is unchanging I believe that Christ’s head is still God the Father.

Women in the Corinthian Church apparently were usurping their place over men just as women do so in the Church today. We have changed with the times in the pop-culture riddled Church of today. This change has not brought us closer to Christ-likeness. This is seen by a divorce rate that is equal to that of the world, and the blurred lines between TV religion and Hollywood stars. No longer are men encouraged to be manly or women to be lady-like. No, instead we are all equals and we should all be thought of as such. I strongly disagree with this liberal way of

thinking. This is the same mindset that gives us Gay rights.

I believe that God is first, supreme in all, then Christ, who has subjected Himself to the Father. Then there is man, who is blessed with the subordinate helpmeet, who is the completion of the man.

Now just because I believe in Patriarchy don’t think me to be a caveman. I don’t drag my wife around by the hair (much anymore) and I don’t make all the decisions in her life for her. I do however, take responsibility for the final decision after we discuss things and compare them to Biblical principles. I have not always made right decisions but as a submissive subordinate she voices her disagreement and leaves the decisions to me. God has given us a wonderful relationship from this adherence to His Word. I am blessed in her and I know she feels this way too, because we talk about it on a regular basis. She, like me, believes this Patriarchy is Biblically correct.


Numbers 18:21-32
21. "To the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting.
22. " The sons of Israel shall not come near the tent of meeting again, or they will bear sin and die.
23. " Only the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
24. " For the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they offer as an offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance; therefore I have said concerning them, 'They shall have no inheritance among the sons of Israel.'"
25. Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
26. "Moreover, you shall speak to the Levites and say to them, 'When you take from the sons of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present an offering from it to the LORD, a tithe of the tithe.
27. 'Your offering shall be reckoned to you as the grain from the threshing floor or the full produce from the wine vat.
28. 'So you shall also present an offering to the LORD from your tithes, which you receive from the sons of Israel; and from it you shall give the LORD'S offering to Aaron the priest.
29. 'Out of all your gifts you shall present every offering due to the LORD, from all the best of them, the sacred part from them.'
30. "You shall say to them, 'When you have offered from it the best of it, then the rest shall be reckoned to the Levites as the product of the threshing floor, and as the product of the wine vat.
31. 'You may eat it anywhere, you and your households, for it is your compensation in return for your service in the tent of meeting.
32. 'You will bear no sin by reason of it when you have offered the best of it. But you shall not profane the sacred gifts of the sons of Israel, or you will die.'"

Deuteronomy 14:22-28
22. "You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field

every year.
23. "You shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.
24. "If the distance is so great for you that you are not able to bring the tithe, since the place where the LORD your God chooses to set His name is too far away from you when the LORD your God blesses you,
25. then you shall exchange it for money, and bind the money in your hand and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses.
26. "You may spend the money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household.
27. "Also you shall not neglect the Levite who is in your town, for he has no portion or inheritance among you.
28. "At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall deposit it in your town.

Here is where I stand on tithing:

Tithing was a part of the Mosaic Law. But, tithing was established long before the Law was given. Abraham tithed (Genesis 14:20). Jacob tithed (Genesis 28:20-22).

"Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. Malachi 3:8 is probably one of the most critical passages on this matter.
This passage shows that if we withhold the tithe we are guilty of stealing from God. God says that the tithe belongs to Him.

Now does this apply today? While many Christians say that the tithe was under the Law and it was done away with at the cross, this is not clearly stated. It cannot be shown that it is now abolished simply because we are no longer under Law. Abraham and Jacob were not under the Law and they gave their tithe to God. (People tend to forget that time line thingy.)

A “new principal” in giving is said to be modeled in 2 Corinthians 9:7 which states, “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” The problem is that the context for this giving is set in earlier in 2 Corinthians 8:4, the purpose was to meet needs outside of their local church body. “For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints” It goes further to say that they gave “first gave of themselves to the Lord…” meaning they gave the Lord the tithe first, then they gave to the cause of helping the saints.
These are special offering to meet the needs of the saints in Jerusalem. They are note using money that has been collected previously this is not a tithe. This of course coincides with Malachi 3:10, the tithe is to be used for the maintenance of the temple. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the

LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. To say there is no need for tithing is to say there is no need for God’s blessing. The Church of the New Testament full of former Jews would say this too was absurd.

This Old and New Testament practice of tithing meets the needs of the local church. Also there is the argument from silence here. The saved Jews in the New Testament church would have understood that the lack of tithing would make them guilty of stealing from God. This is evident that there were no new writings from the Jesus, the apostles or elders that this practice should be stopped, unlike circumcisions which was written of extensively.

Go ahead, rob Him and see where it gets you.