Would you say that baptism is necessary for going to heaven?  If so, do you think that if you're unable to get baptized for whatever reason but you've had a change of heart that you will still go to hell?

Sincerely,
Double-Checking Destinations

Dear Double-Checking Destinations,

The most well-documented and clearest doctrine in the New Testament is baptism… yet, it is also the most commonly ignored topic in the religious world.  Peter said it best when he said, “Baptism saves you” (1 Pet 3:21).  Every person that became a christian in the New Testament was baptized – immediately.  You won’t find a single person in the book of Acts that wasn’t baptized.  When the first sermon was preached after Christ ascended into heaven, the apostles told the people that they needed to “repent and be baptized… for the remission of their sins” (Acts 2:38).  Paul tells us that baptism is a burial with Christ, and only after that burial do we receive a new life (Rom 6:3-4).  Baptism was so important to Paul that he was baptized even before eating or drinking (Acts 9:18-19), which shows how important it is because Paul hadn’t had food or water in three days (Acts 9:9)!  Belief is not enough; even the demons believe in God (Jas 2:19).  It is only when our belief is combined with obedience that we have living faith (Jas 2:17-18), and the very first command to obey that God gives us is to be baptized in the name of His Son (Matt 28:19, Mk 16:16).  We die to sin when we are baptized.
Now, let’s quickly deal with the second part to your question.  The only way you can know with confidence that you are saved is to do what the Bible says (Rom 1:16).  If God chooses to make exceptions to that rule on the Judgment Day, that is His right… He is the final Judge (Heb 12:23).  However, 99.99% of us have the ability to get baptized, so that is what we should do.

About the prodigal son in Lk. 15, you said that it is important to God that we all come back, so He can forgive us.  But then why can’t all people just be, like, crazy, and in the end of their lives, go to God and ask for forgiveness and all will be fine?  What is the argument that keeps someone from doing that?

Sincerely,
Last Minute Convert

Dear Last Minute Convert,

The easiest way to answer this question is by referring to Gal 6:7 which says that God can’t be “mocked”.  This means that we can’t trick God or fool Him into believing we have changed when we really haven’t.  Rom 8:27 says that God searches our hearts, and 1 Jhn 3:20 says that God knows all things.  When we come to God for forgiveness, God expects us to not only want forgiveness, but to change our mind about sin.  The word ‘repent’ means ‘to change your mind’, and repentance is a requirement for salvation (Acts 2:38).  If we attempt to live a sinful life and just “fool” God by asking for forgiveness at the end, it won’t work.  God knows whether or not we have truly repented of our sins and are truly sorry for the sins we have committed.  It isn’t enough to want forgiveness; you have to hate sin and really believe that you were in the wrong.  Our faith in God must be a sincere faith (1 Tim 1:5).  If it isn’t sincere, God will know, and He won’t be tricked.

Will I go to hell because I cussed God and called Him some dirty names?

Sincerely,
Regretful

Dear Regretful,

Blasphemy is one of the things that is specifically said will send you to hell (2 Tim. 3:2), and you shouldn’t take lightly what you have done.  We can be forgiven for using the Lord’s name in vain, but only if we repent and turn to the Lord.  God has provided a means for all sins to be forgiven – His Son’s blood.  When we become christians (read “What Must I Do To Be Saved?” for details on how to become a christian), all sins are forgiven, even our previous blasphemy against God… but without His grace, we cannot expect to speak evil of the Creator of heaven and earth and not to have consequences.

     We all know even Christians are not perfect and have struggles.  We also know that sanctification should be occurring, and a Christian has conduct requirements.  My question is: when does sin become a serious problem in a Christian’s life?  When does a Christian become a lukewarm Christian?  And after receiving Christ in their lives, can Christians backslide or sin enough to lose their salvation?  I know I hate sin and strive my hardest to do the will of God, but there are times I just have a thorn in my flesh or do what I don't want to do.

Sincerely,
Imperfect

Dear Imperfect,

We are warned to not “drift” away from the Lord (Heb 2:1) or “backslide” (Pr 1:32) into old sinful ways.  Once we are baptized, we are told to grow in the Lord and mature in our faith (1 Pet 2:2).  Baptism is the beginning of a new life, but God calls us to be faithful until death (Rev 2:10).  A Christian can know that they are not lukewarm by properly examining their motives and lifestyle (1 Cor 11:28-30).  God constantly forgives faithful and honest people for their sins (1 Jn 1:9), but if we neglect our salvation (Heb 2:3) or stop growing, we have no hope left (Heb 10:26-27).  The struggles you face are completely common… the important thing is to continue to struggle and fight for the faith.

     Is salvation by faith only or by both faith and works? Passages like Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17, 3:27-28, 4:2-5, 5:1, 10: 9-10, 11:6, Gal 2:16, 3:11-12, Eph 2:8-9, Tit 3:5, 2 Tim 1:9, and Php 3:9 all say that faith is just needed.  Especially a standout here is Eph 2:8-9 because I see this verse used often by the Pentecostal/Evangelical Charismatic preachers to prove their idea that faith is all you need and nothing else, not even baptism.  I often see these guys preach this idea to young people because they believe they will be more likely proselytes, especially someone who has never even touched a Bible in their entire lives.

But according to passages like Ps 62:12, Matt 16:27, Rom 2: 6-7, Pr 24:12, Eccl 12:14, Jer 17:10, 32:19, Jhn 5:29, 2 Cor 5:10, Php 2:12, Jas 2:14-26, Heb 6:10, 1 Peter 1:17, Job 34:11, Gal 6:7, Col 3: 23-24, and Rev 22:12, works do matter!  So what are we saved by, and why are there some passages that talk about only faith and other passages talk about both faith and works?

Sincerely,
Mixed Messages

Dear Mixed Messages,

The Bible says that we are saved by faith (Eph 2:8), but it never says that we are saved by faith only.  The Scriptures mention a lot of things that are involved in our salvation.  We are saved by hope (Rom 8:24).  We are saved by baptism (1 Pet 3:21).  We are saved by the love of the truth (2 Thess 2:10).  All of these things are involved in your salvation.  In order to understand a topic, we must look at the sum of God’s Word on that subject (Ps. 119:160).

We are told that in order to be saved, we must believe in Jesus (Jhn 3:16), repent of our sins (Acts 2:38), be baptized (Mk 16:16), and continue to grow in the knowledge of Christ through the Bible (2 Pet 3:18).  Faith is hearing what God says (Rom 10:17)… and then acting upon it.  James says that faith without works is dead (Jas 2:17).  It is impossible to be a faithful person and live an unrepentant life.  Faith is more than belief; even the demons believe in God (Jas 2:19).  Faith is belief combined with action.  We must be hearers and doers of God’s Word (Jas 1:22).