With the new law trying to be passed to make doctors unable to turn down someone that wants an abortion, what are you to do if the situation comes up?

Sincerely, Doing No Harm

Dear Doing No Harm,

Do what is right in God’s eyes and forsake man’s laws (Acts 4:19-20). It is a sad fact that our modern culture does not value life. The deaths of unborn children skyrockets every year, exemplifying our ever more selfish culture that refuses to care for its weakest and most innocent members. Who are we to decide what is and isn’t life? As a society degenerates, God’s people are more and more often persecuted for their beliefs.

• Lot lost everything to flee from Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:29-30).
• Joseph was thrown in jail for fleeing fornication (Gen 39:12-20).
• Elijah was almost murdered by Jezebel (1 Kgs 19:1-2).
• Christ lost his life for doing good (Acts 3:14-15).
• Paul was stoned and left for dead (Acts 14:19).

If a doctor is asked to kill a child by the United States legal system, he must refuse. He serves a greater law than America, and his treasures are stored in another place (Matt 6:20).

I made an oath to God before I was a baptized christian and before I knew the importance of keeping a promise to God, I am now a baptized christian but can no longer keep the promise I made to God. Am I sinning if I do not keep that promise?

Sincerely, My Word Is My Bond

Dear My Word Is My Bond,

Rash promises are a sin, but if you can’t keep the promise - you can’t keep it. When we make a promise to God or to man, we are bound by our word (Matt 5:37). Without knowing the promise you made, I can’t tell you exact advice on how to proceed, but I caution that there is a difference between ‘can’t keep a promise’ and ‘would be hard to keep a promise’. Make sure to examine yourself and consider which phrase is really true in your case.

Having said that, some promises simply can’t be kept. Which means we probably shouldn’t have made the promise in the first place. We human beings have a tendency of sticking our feet in our mouths and speaking too quickly. God had an entire trespass offering process in the Old Testament devoted to people who made rash promises (Lev. 5:4-6). When a Jew made a rash vow, he was to admit it, make a trespass offering, and confess his sin before God.

I recommend that you use that as a model. Pray to God, confess your sin to Him (1 John 1:9), and then move forward with a new appreciation of how carefully you should watch what you say and promise (Eccl 5:2).

How can I know if something is a sin?

 

Inquisitively,
Wanting To Be Faithful

Dear Wanting To Be Faithful,

Sin is disobeying what God says.  The very word 'sin' is defined as 'missing the mark'.  God defines what a good life looks like in His Word.  We wouldn't know who we ought to be if He didn't tell us.  We are made in His image (Gen 1:26) and created for His glory (Col 1:16).  We are the creation, and He is the Creator.  Understanding His supreme authority is crucial.  We must realize and accept that we are designed with a purpose and that the Creator understands how to properly guide our lives to fulfill that purpose.

Sin can be doing something that God has condemned (i.e. David sleeping with Bathsheba - 2 Sam 12:13).  Sin can also be failing to do what you ought to (i.e. Jonah refusing to preach to the Ninevites - Jonah 1:3).  We must model our lives after God's commandments and teachings.  Our lives must bear godly fruit (Jhn 15:12, Lk 3:8), and we must flee from wickedness (1 Tim 6:11).  It is our adherence to both the positive and negative commandments of God that shows our friendship with Him (Jhn 15:14).  The Bible is God's roadmap for life; follow it to avoid the pitfalls of sin.

Is there any way to lose your salvation?

 

Sincerely,
Heaven-Bound

Dear Heaven-Bound,

Yes, you can lose your salvation - but not by accident.  There are two extremes when it comes to discussing salvation.

One extreme is the Calvinistic view that your salvation is never in jeopardy regardless of what you do.  This view is called 'Perseverance of the Saints' - the belief that if you are saved, you will always persevere without ever a need to worry about your salvation.  This view is simply not Biblical.  Consider several verses from the book of Hebrews.  Heb 6:4-6 talks about 'enlightened partakers of the Holy Spirit' (certainly this refers to saved Christians) who then 'fall away' and 'crucify afresh the Son of God'.  There can be no doubt that this is talking about people losing their salvation.  Heb. 10:26-27 talks about knowledgeable Christians rejecting the gospel and the terrifying expectation of judgment to come upon them.  Paul said he feared that his preaching had been in vain to the Galatian brethren because they were turning away from the pure word of God (Gal 4:11, Gal 1:6).  Yes, we most certainly must watch how we live and act so as to not miss the prize of heaven (1 Cor 9:25-27).

The other extreme is to have zero confidence in your salvation.  This is the attitude of "unless I am living perfectly, I am going to be lost."  This view is also wrong.  Christ died to save sinners (1 Tim 1:15), and it is His blood that pays the price for your entrance to heaven (1 Pet 1:18-19).  Your salvation is not dependent upon perfect living but FAITHFUL living (Eph. 2:8): hearing God's word (Rom 10:17) and then living by that Word (Jas 2:14-18) to the best of your ability.  Perfection is not a requirement of salvation in Christ - commitment is.  A committed Christian, though he often may fall short of who he wants to be, can be confident in his eternal reward.

Do angels intercede to word our prayers in the right language, or do we need to learn how to pray in accordance to God's will?

 

Sincerely,
Lost in Translation

We need to learn how to pray in accordance with God's will, BUT there is one exception to this (I'll get to that last).  Jesus' disciples asked him to teach them how to pray (Lk 11:1).  Jesus didn't correct them.  Instead, He taught them (Lk 11:2-4).  There is definitely a right way and a wrong way to pray.

However, God does intercede for us in our prayers.  Specifically, the Holy spirit intercedes for us (Rom 8:26).  There are times when we don't know what to ask for, how to ask for it, or even whether we should ask for it!  Sometimes we are in such suffering and agony that words can't express the struggles and agony we are in.  In such cases, God says that our lack of eloquence won't hinder our prayers.  The Holy Spirit who can examine our hearts makes sure the Father is aware of our deepest yearnings and concerns.  Angels never translate our prayers, but God's own Spirit cares enough to listen and help.