If my children were born out of wedlock, are they automatically damned to hell?

Sincerely,
Worried

Dear Worried,

Absolutely not.  Ezek 18:2-4 says that God holds each person accountable for their own individual sins.  It is a sin to have children out of wedlock, but that is a sin the parents need forgiveness for, not the children.  Your children are not damned because of your choices.

However, your choices do greatly influence your children’s future.  Our kids look to us as role-models and guides.  God says that how we train up a child will affect where they go (Pr 22:6).

It is a sign of a healthy parental instinct that you are already worried about your children’s spiritual future.  The best thing you can do for them is to make your own life right with God.  We would be happy to get you in touch with a faithful church (not all churches are faithful) that can help you get on the right track for you and your children.  Just e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org, and we will happily assist you in whatever way we can.

     I am nineteen and would call myself a faithful christian for a couple years now. I am fearful of judgment, though, because I still occasionally sin in ways that I repented of and asked God for forgiveness.  As I first grew, I tried stomping out sin in my life.  I have, by the power of God, overcome a lot of ensnaring sin.  I know this is how it's supposed to be, and one doesn't become perfect overnight, but I still stumble in ways that will always be my weaknesses.  I don’t feel that Christ's blood doesn't have the power of forgiveness or that God isn't faithful to forgive, but instead I feel that I've already asked for forgiveness too many times after baptism and repentance.

Sincerely,
Struggling

Dear Struggling,

1 Jn 1:9 says that God is prepared to forgive us if we confess our sins, and Matt 18:22 says that God will accept our honest repentance an infinite amount of times.  God is ready and willing to forgive (Ps 86:5).  Like all things, God is better at forgiveness than we are.  Many people (us here at AYP included!) hold on to the guilt and shame of sin far too keenly.  God tells us that there are several things to remember:

1. Even if your heart condemns you, God keeps His promises.  On the Judgment Day, we will be judged by God’s standards, not whether or not we feel worthy (1 Jn 3:20), so even if you don’t feel forgiven, that doesn’t mean you aren’t.
2. We can reassure our own hearts that we have been forgiven when we study and live by the truth of the Bible (1 Jn 3:18-20).  The more we immerse ourselves in God’s teachings, the quicker we begin to realize that forgiveness isn’t about being worthy… but about having faith in the mercy of God.

All in all, self-forgiveness takes time… just like all areas of growth.

     Is the church of Christ a denominational church?

Sincerely,
Doing My Research

Dear Doing My Research,

The church of Christ is definitely not a denominational church.  Each congregation is led and guided autonomously by the Scriptures.  Whatever the Scriptures say, that is what we do (Col 3:17).  Denominationalism is wrong – read our article “Down With Denominationalism” for details on how the Lord’s church is being attacked by the religious confusion of the denominational world.

     Why do preachers that live by the gospel give money to the gospel?    And are they required by God to give as others are commanded to give?

Sincerely,
Where’s The Wallet?

Dear Where’s The Wallet,

Congregations are allowed to support their preachers financially (1 Cor 9:14), but preachers are still just men.  The rules for giving back to the Lord are no different for preachers than they are for any other christian.  God tells us all to be cheerful givers (2 Cor 9:7) and to give as we have prospered every first day of the week (1 Cor 16:1-2).  This is true for preachers just like everyone else.

In fact, this principle was even true in the Old Testament.  The Levitical priesthood (not that preachers are priests!) made their living from the offerings received at the temple, but they were still required to tithe just like everyone else (Num 18:26).

     I have gone to church all my life.  I have never had an issue with my faith; I’ve always believed, but recently, with a lot of negativity towards religion and science explaining everything, I feel like I am losing my faith rather quickly.  Do you have any words of wisdom that can help me believe truly again?

Sincerely,
Need To Believe

Dear Need To Believe,

Everyone faces times of doubt in their life; the key is to strengthen the weaknesses in our resolve.  Like the man who cried out, “I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mk 9:24), all christians must recognize that faith must grow and increase over time.
Faith is the evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1).  We can’t see God, but there is plenty of evidence that He exists.  The whole creation cries out as evidence of God’s existence (Rom 1:20).  As science and our knowledge of the natural world have increased, the proof of God’s existence has increased as well.  Books like Has God Spoken? by A.O. Schnabel, Case For A Creator by Lee Strobel, and Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell are excellent resources that make clear the existence of the God of the Bible.  Take the time to fill your mind with information from sources like those mentioned above, and you will find yourself more confident in no time (Php 4:8).
God tells us to come and “reason together with Him” (Isa 1:18).  There are entire scientific communities such as Answers In Genesis that are dedicated to the study of the science that proves God’s existence. There are reasons and evidences that prove that God exists, and it is surprising how few people ever talk about those evidences.  We have an entire category in our archives dedicated to evidences that God exists and the Bible is His Word because we here at AYP are so frequently asked about that topic.
Not only is it possible to prove God exists, it is possible to prove that He authored the Bible.  The Bible is the most unique book in the world.  The Bible is scientifically accurate (though written long before modern science), historically accurate (down to the last archeological detail), prophetically accurate (the Bible predicts events down to the smallest detail hundreds of years in advance), and it never contradicts itself (even though the Bible was written over the course of hundreds of years by dozens of different writers).  In a world of rare writings, the Bible stands alone.  For further details, read our post “Who Wrote The Bible?”.

There is no doubt that God exists – the evidence speaks for itself.