15. Is a church business? How sad would it be if somebody make money by taking advantage of other people's beliefs!

Answer: The church is not a business, but unfortunately many false preachers and false religious leaders have made the church a business. The words 'Christian' and 'church' are used loosely today. Many people claim to be Christians and many organizations call themselves churches, but in reality they are not.

There are also childish Christians. They are true Christians, but they have not grown in the Christian faith. Their behavior is not much different from the majority of the people in this world who pursue monetary gain rather than the truth.

Jesus said a parable to illustrate the sad condition of Christendom today. He said: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'

"'An enemy did this,' he replied."

"The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' "

'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'" (Matt 13:24-30)

The persons who sowed good seed in this parable were Jesus Christ and His faithful servants. The persons who sowed weeds were the devil and His followers. Just as there is a mixture of good and evil in the world, there is a mixture of good and evil in many so called churches today. But there are still many good churches that follow the teaching of Jesus. I advise you to go to a good church and seek God's truth there. Jesus Christ will come back to establish His righteous kingdom on earth. At that time He will separate the good from the evil. He will reward those who do good and punish those who do evil. (G.L.)