Sometimes, I am asked if I am a "born-again" christian.  I don't know how to respond.  What is a "born-again" christian?

Sincerely,
Labeled

Dear Labeled,

A born-again christian is just a christian; it is another way to say that you are saved.  The terminology comes from Jhn 3:1-6 when Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about salvation.  In Jhn 3:3, Jesus tells Nicodemus that we must be born again in order to enter the kingdom (the kingdom is the church – read “A Kingdom For All Nations” for further details on that).  Nicodemus asks how it is possible for someone to be born again (Jhn 3:4), and Jesus explains that we must be born of the Spirit and water (Jhn 3:5).  We are born of the Spirit when we listen and obey the words of the Holy Spirit found in the Bible (Jhn 6:63, 1 Cor 2:13), and we are born of water when we are baptized (1 Pet 3:21, Rom 6:4).  When we heed the Scriptures and are baptized, we are born again… and we become christians (Mk 16:16, Matt 28:19).

Jesus often described the Pharisees as “blind guides”, “hypocrites”, and “broods of vipers”.  Yet, in Matthew 23: 1-4, He tells His disciples to obey them.

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.  So you must obey them and do everything they tell you.  But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.  They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

Why would Jesus tell His followers to obey the very same people He railed so heavily against?  Did the Pharisees have real authority passed down through the generations from Moses?

Sincerely,
Mixed Signals

Dear Mixed Signals,

The Pharisees were the teachers and preachers of Israel (that is what Jesus meant when He said they “sat in Moses’ seat”) – but they didn’t follow the law that they preached.  Jesus was telling His disciples that they should obey God’s laws… regardless of who is preaching them.

The Pharisees were blind guides (Matt 23:16) and hypocrites (Matt 23:13).  The only godly authority that the Pharisees had was when they taught from the Bible – Christ told His followers to disregard everything else they said and did.

The parable of the Prodigal Son gives us one perspective of how God views those that come back to Him and His teachings after straying and how this is a blessing and pleasing unto Him… however, 2 Peter 2:20-22 makes it seem that this is worse in God's eyes than never following His Word in the first place.  Which is the case?  Thank you!!

Sincerely,
Looking For The Upside

Dear Looking For The Upside,

The story of the prodigal son (found in Lk 15:11-32) is the story of the lost returning to Christ… 2 Pet. 2:20-22 is the exact opposite.  Peter is talking about faithful people who return to the wickedness of sinful living.  If someone becomes a christian and then, once again, gets entangled in worldly living – they are worse off than they were to start with (2 Pet 2:20).  When we know the truth and don’t obey it, we have the same eternal destination as before… but we can’t plead ignorance anymore.  As long as we are still breathing, there is the possibility of returning to God, but it is a lot harder for an “ex-christian” to return to the truth than it is for an honest-but-ignorant person to obey God’s Word.

Throughout the Bible, I've seen the words "god" and "God".  Someone told me that the capital "G" for god is for a reason.  So I assumed that for the small "g" god, the Bible is referring to any god like Molech, Dagon, Marduk, Bel, etc.  The capital "G" for God in the Bible is referring to an all-powerful and almighty God and also the creator of heaven and Earth, and there's only one god that matches that description: Yahweh.  No other god is all-powerful and almighty and also the creator of heaven and Earth, only one.  In other words, no other gods can compete with His authority.  The same thing can be said about the Holy Spirit.  When there's "spirit" with a small "s", it's referring to any spirit, but with a capital "S", it's the Holy Spirit.  Am I correct about everything I've just said?

Sincerely,
Feeling Capital

Dear Feeling Capital,

The capital letters were added into the English translations of the Bible, but they didn’t exist in the original Greek and Hebrew.  The capital ‘G’ is intended to tell you that it is talking about Jehovah… not idols, and the capital ‘S’ was added to tell you that the verse is talking about God’s Spirit, not any other spirit.  These capitals were added for clarity’s sake, but in reality, they are merely commentary from the translators.  The Greek and Hebrew do not provide the capitals, and context is what decides whether a verse is talking about the God or a god.  Most of the times that the translators added this capitalization, they have been right… but to be fair, we must remember that this punctuation isn’t found in the originals.

Why would Christ say, “My God, why has Thou forsaken Me?”

Sincerely,
Questioning Quotes

Dear Questioning Quotes,

Christ spoke those words with His dying breaths, hanging upon a cross (Mk 15:34).  Jesus was on that cross for our sins (1 Cor 15:3).  When Jesus hung upon the cross, He carried the weight of all the sins of mankind upon His shoulders (1 Pet 2:24).  As our innocent Savior carried that unimaginable weight upon His shoulders, He bore the blackness of our sins and the separation from God that sin brings with it (Hab 1:13).  As Jesus gasped for air, He was separated from His Father for our sakes.  That is why He said what He did.