I currently work outside of the home, but many of my friends tell me that a christian woman cannot have a job.  Does God say that I have to be a stay-at-home mom?

Sincerely,
Overworked

Dear Overworked,

Being a stay-at-home mom is a job – a very important one – that shouldn’t be neglected.  The Bible never says that a woman can’t work outside the home; in fact, it gives many examples of faithful women working secular jobs.  Lydia was a seller of beautiful fabric (Acts 16:14).  The worthy woman of Proverbs 31 is depicted as buying and selling land (Pr 31:16).  The problem isn’t with women working outside of the home; it is when women neglect their homes and families.

God tells us that older women are to train younger women to be “workers at home”, “love their children”, and “love their husbands” (Tit 2:3-5).  Paul told Timothy that women are to “rule the household” (1 Tim 5:14).  Both of these verses indicate that women play a pivotal and central role in running the home.  As much as men are admonished to provide and lead their families, women are taught to not neglect the sphere of the home and family.  Pr 14:1 says that women should build their homes and invest effort and time into establishing those homes.

If a woman works outside of the home (which is perfectly scriptural), she must make sure that she does not neglect the home.  Proverbs 31 shows us what an important and wonderful job being a wife and a mother can be.  A woman who dedicates herself to her family will be pleasing to God, and her family will rise up and call her “blessed” (Pr 31:28-31).

If I don't have my child christened, will he go to hell?

 

Sincerely,
Nervous Mother

Dear Nervous Mother,

All children go to heaven.  David’s son died and went to heaven (2 Sam 12:23).  ‘Christening’, also known as ‘infant baptism’, is nowhere to be found in the Bible.  Children are not baptized; adults are.  Baptism is only for believers (Mk 16:16).  You must be old enough to understand and repent (Acts 2:38).  Infants can neither believe nor repent.  It is adults, men and women, who hear the gospel news and then obey it through baptism (Acts 8:12).  Baptism must be requested by the individual wanting it (Acts 8:36)… babies cannot request baptism.  All babies go to heaven; baptism is for those of us who have grown up, rebelled, sinned, and need our sins removed (Acts 22:16).

I'm taking care of my 93-year-old mother.  This morning she did not feel up to going to church.  I've had back surgery and often have to take medicine at night; I don't want to get behind the wheel.  We drive twenty miles to services.  Is it okay if we study together on Sunday and have the Lord’s Supper?

 

Sincerely,
Home Bound

Dear Home Bound,

The Scriptures are clear that we should not forsake the assembly of christians (Heb 10:24-25), but if you are unable to leave your house, you are unable to leave your house.  There are always individual cases with extenuating circumstances that don’t conform to the standard rule.  The average person is able to get out and attend services, but if you are sick, socked-in by a blizzard, in the military, etc. – then your situation isn’t average.  God only holds us accountable for what we are able to do (2 Cor 8:12).  If you are ready and prepared to attend services as normal, but health problems don’t permit you to fulfill the desires of your heart, God understands.  The key is that you aren’t making empty excuses or rationalizations to avoid going to services.  As long as your reason for missing is legitimate (and your case certainly sounds that way), you can in clear conscience know that you did your best.

By all means, stay home and care for your elderly mother.  When you can make it to services, do so… but don’t feel bad when your or her health prevents you.  There is no need to take the Lord’s Supper when you can’t attend services.  The Lord’s Supper is taken by the church when they assemble together (1 Cor 11:20-21).  It is an act of the group to partake together in unity, not individually (1 Cor 11:33).  Because you are unable to leave your home to be with the church, it is not a sin for you to not take the Lord’s Supper.

I've had trouble in my past with the law.  I'm sorry for what I did and have changed.  Why do I still have to deal with all this?  Is there something obvious I can do or something to show people that I'm not the same?  I've tried wearing long sleeves to cover up my tattoos and wearing a cross, and all that didn't work.  Is there, like, a saying or something that I can say?  Or something else I can wear?

 

Sincerely,
Reformed Citizen

Dear Reformed Citizen,

There are two areas of our life that our sins effect – the spiritual part of our life and the physical part of our life.  When you are baptized, the spiritual consequences for your sins are removed.  Our sins bring spiritual death (Rom 6:23), and baptism brings a new life in Christ (Rom 6:3-4).  The spiritual consequences for our sins are the most important because they are eternal consequences.  Even if all of mankind hates us, if God loves us, we are safe (Matt 10:28).  Forgiveness of your sins does not remove the physical consequences though – just the spiritual ones.

God tells us that we “reap what we sow” (Gal 6:7).  The physical consequences of our sins will be with us our entire life.  If we lose our temper and strike someone, then we must deal with the effects of that choice… even if God forgives us.  If I am an unfaithful steward and spend all the money God gives me on worthless things, God’s forgiveness will not miraculously remove my poverty.  God wants us to learn the lessons from our sins, and He disciplines us when we are disobedient (Heb 12:9-10).  There is no magic pill, incantation, or jewelry that will remove the consequences of your choices in this life.  All you can do is begin to humbly serve God (Mic 6:8).  As you make better choices – over time – you will find that people begin to treat you differently.  Let your humble, repentant, and gentle spirit shine through.  You know that you are a different person; in time everyone else will, too.

I heard a sermon on obeying the government.  There was a verse that mentioned not overthrowing the king.  Which made me wonder... were the founding fathers sinning by leading the American Revolution against the king of England?

 

Sincerely,
Patriot or Traitor

Dear Patriot Or Traitor,

Your question is a profoundly difficult one to answer because:

1. Most Americans are thankful for the freedom they enjoy because of the American Revolution and are reluctant to consider their national heroes as potential sinners.
2. We were not there and cannot see the world through the founding fathers’ eyes.  We are only left with what details the history books give us.

Because of these two things, it is hard to give a definitive answer.  Realistically, any answer we give ends up being an “armchair quarterback” sort of statement.

Biblically, it is wrong to rebel against a government in almost all circumstances (Rom 13:1-2).  The only times where it is permissible are:

1. When the government is attempting to stop you from obeying God (Acts 5:29).
2. The government is preventing you from providing for your family’s basic needs (1 Tim 5:8).
3. The government is seeking to unjustly persecute and kill/harm you, your family, other christians, etc. (2 Cor 11:32-33).

If the government is attempting to do any of these things, a christian has biblical justification for rebelling against the government’s command.  That is what the Bible says on the matter.  The question is whether or not the American Revolution fits that criteria.  Depending on which historian you discuss the issue with, you will get a different answer.  Some will say, “Yes, it met that criteria,” while others will say, “No, it didn’t,” and some others will say, “Some people who rebelled met the criteria, and other’s didn’t.”  In our opinion (we now move into opinion, and leave the realm of Scripture), the last view is correct.  Some founding fathers rebelled out of a deep-seated spiritual conviction, and others rebelled out of simple frustration with the financial hardships that England placed upon them.  But in the end, all we can do is make sure that how we live is biblically sound – and leave the judgment of others to God.