I have a friend that is a new Baptist member, and I visited her church, and there was a woman that had asked to become a member of their church; they then proceeded to vote on it.  Where do they get the authority to do so?  Can a church deny membership to one wanting to be a member?

Sincerely,
Taking A Tally

Dear Taking A Tally,

Baptists get the authority to vote on people becoming members from page 17 and 18 of the Baptist Church Manual… which is interestingly enough not the Bible.  You can read a copy of the text here (scroll down to the section titled “How Members Are Received”).  This practice is unscriptural and has no basis in Bible authority.

The Bible teaches that we are added to the church when we are baptized for salvation (Acts 2:37-41).  People join a local church once they become christians and unite themselves to that local group of saints.  If a christian moves to another part of the country, they simply explain their situation, or they are commended to the new brethren by others who know them (Rom 16:1-2).  Either way, the Bible system never comes close to resembling a vote.  Read carefully the Baptist Manual link… their process of membership (which very few Baptists realize) consists of:

1. Confess that you are saved.
2. Be voted on.  (The vote determines whether they believe you are saved, whether or not you have the right to be baptized, and whether or not you will be allowed to be a member).
3. Receive a Baptist baptism.

The Bible way is so much simpler: believe (Jhn 3:16), repent (Acts 17:30), confess (Matt 10:32), and be baptized (Mk 16:16, 1 Pet 3:21).

I have been a christian for twenty years.  After being saved for one year, I began to fall into pornography.  It was very bad after a few years, and then it began to get better and better over the years.  But still, every month or even two weeks, I commit a sin in this area.  Was I really saved?  And if so, how do I have true repentance?  Please help.

Sincerely,
Lost One

Dear Lost One,

If you properly followed God’s commands to receive salvation (Read “What Must I Do To Be Saved” for more details), then you were saved.  However, you are right that this sin is deeply entrenched in your life, and you need permanent repentance.  We are told that a powerful tool in defeating sin is confessing our sins to one another (Jas 5:16).  Sin likes to be kept secret (Jhn 3:20), and bringing it to light by making it public goes a long way in defeating habitual sin.  A very popular way of getting this sort of accountability is by using accountability software that forwards your browsing history to a friend or trusted individual.  Companies like CovenantEyes make accountability software, and many struggling pornography addicts have found it to make a huge difference.  If you want to defeat sin, you must expose it.  Confess your sin to others, and you will begin the journey to change.

Must I be baptized in order to receive forgiveness of my sins?

Sincerely,
What’s In The Water?

Dear What’s In The Water,

Yes.  There are no examples of people becoming christians without baptism (the thief on the cross was not a christian… Jesus hadn’t died yet – read “The Thief On The Cross” for more details on that situation).  When people asked how to be saved in Acts 2:37, Peter told them that they would be saved when they repented and were baptized (Acts 2:38).  Mk 16:16 says that we are saved when we believe and are baptized.  1 Pet 3:21 says that baptism saves you, and Rom 6:4 says that we receive a new life in Christ when we come out of the baptismal waters.  Paul was immediately baptized (even before breaking a three day fast) when he had the Gospel preached to him (Acts 9:18-19).  The Ethiopian eunuch asked to be baptized after Philip preached to him about Jesus (Acts 8:36-38).  Acts 22:16 says that your sins are washed away in baptism, and Gal 3:27 says that we put on Christ when we are baptized.  All of these verses (and many more that we haven’t cited) clearly prove that baptism forgives you of your sins.  Baptism isn’t the end of your christian journey, it is the beginning… until you are baptized, you are still lost in your sins.

[This question is a follow-up to “There Can Be Only One”]

Why are all the other religions wrong?  Are 1.5 billion people going to heaven while 4.5 billion will burn in hell?  It almost doesn't seem like the fair and loving God I would worship.

Sincerely,
All-Inclusive

Dear All-Inclusive,

God is perfectly fair – we just aren’t very grateful for what He has offered us.  There is nothing unfair about God’s plan of salvation.  Everyone can be saved in Christ (Jhn 3:16).  Jesus opened a door to salvation that anyone can walk through.  Anyone that desires to have salvation through Christ can have it (Rev 3:20).  It isn’t His fault that many people spurn His invitation.  Which road we take is our choice (Matt 7:13).

I have pondered about the idea of a messiah.  It seemed to me that all cultures and religions have a savior.  It seems to me quite possible that God sent His son, or Himself, or the third iteration of Himself (however one interprets the messiah) to all different peoples to lead them around the same time, essentially.  And presently, Satan exploits this to make humans fight each other because we all worship the same god.  So any theism works… that is what I'm trying to say and what I think.

Is Jesus Christ special, or was Isus the Egyptian messiah, or Allah, or Krishnu, or Jehovah just as good?

Sincerely,
Open Minded

Dear Open Minded,

Jesus is special, and He left no room for other gods.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jhn 14:6).  Jesus was either the one and only Messiah – or He was a crazy lunatic.  Jesus teaches that we can only have one Master (Matt 23:10) and that serving anyone else is a sin.  Jesus taught that we either confess Him as the Christ, or we will be denied before God (Lk 12:8-9).  Jesus cannot coexist with other gods.  The Bible is clear – there can be only one (Eph 4:4-6).  Isus, Allah, Krishnu, etc. are all false gods.