(This post is a response to “Real… For Real Pt. 2”.)

     First of all, I want to say you are amazing, and what you're doing is AMAZING!  I cannot thank God enough that I have found you!!!  You said that “we must each work out our own salvation with fear and trembling."  What exactly does that mean?  Does that mean it's normal that I’m scared?

Sincerely,
Asking

Dear Asking,

We are so glad that our answers are helping you!  Yes, Php. 2:12 does mean that it is healthy to have a certain level of fear when thinking about spiritual things.  After all, your soul’s eternal fate is the most important issue in your whole life.  Whether you go to heaven or hell is a big deal!
Proverbs 1:7 says that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.  We were made by God and for God; until we understand that, nothing in life makes sense.  Having a healthy respect for God is an essential ingredient to a healthy life.

    How do I defeat a demon in battle… as in real combat?

Sincerely,
This Means War

Dear This Means War,

The way that Christians combat the devil and his demons is by godly living and sharing God’s Word with others.  Demons are spiritual creatures that live in the spiritual realm (Lk 11:24), and you can’t fight them in hand-to-hand combat.  However, we are told that if we put on the armor of God, we can fight the spiritual battles that the church needs to fight (Eph 6:11-12).  The armor of God is described as righteousness, truth, preparation of the gospel, faith, salvation, the Bible, and prayer (Eph 6:13-18).  We fight the devil when we live godly lives that make an impact in the world around us.

     I am a Christian, and I have an old friend who is an atheist.  My friend has been married for seventeen years and last summer came close to a divorce after his wife discovered that he was having an affair.  They have since reconciled but have sought no counseling.  I have even suggested they begin this new chapter in their lives by joining a church.  This suggestion was laughed off.  He and his wife along with my wife and me are going on vacation together in three weeks.  We live 900 miles apart from one another.

 

Now that you have the background, here's the question.  Yesterday, he asked me to renew his wife's and his vows on the beach!  My knee-jerk response was, "No, I can't do that.  You need a preacher!"  He responded by saying that he doesn't need a preacher, and he just needs someone to do the vows, and who better than his old best friend?  Something is nagging at me.  First of all, I don't think they have taken the right steps to ensure a solid marriage going forward, but there seems to be more bothering me.  Is there something wrong with a Christian renewing the vows of a couple who are not Christians?  Is there something wrong with someone other than a preacher renewing a married couple’s vows?  Thank you.

Sincerely,
An Old Friend

Dear An Old Friend,

No, there isn't anything wrong with you helping them renew their vows – after all, they aren't officially getting married; they did that seventeen years ago.  This is just a couple trying to reconcile and re-embrace a healthy marriage.  God says that marriage is to be held in honor by all (Heb 13:4).  It isn't a sin for you to help any married couple try and renew a sense of honor in their marriage.

     Are we supposed to go out and preach the Word, or are we supposed to wait until we are asked?  My own experience says that if someone is being called by God, they will reach out (it's what I did before being saved), but there are those who believe it's their duty to go out and preach.  Thank you and God bless you.

Sincerely,
Ready And Waiting

Dear Ready And Waiting,

When Jesus walked this Earth, He sought those who were lost (Lk 19:10), and we should do the same.  Though it is true that some people are already looking for the truth, and God guarantees that those who seek Him will find Him (Matt 7:7), there are others that blindly live in ignorance until we bring the truth to them.  Jesus’ great commission to His apostles was to go and make disciples from every nation (Matt 28:19).  Christians must be searching for opportunities to spread God’s Word – look for those open doors (Col 4:3).  There are two types of converts: those who went actively searching for the pearl of God’s wisdom and found it (Matt 13:45-46) and those who stumbled across the treasured salvation found in Christ (Matt 13:44).  We must be ready for both.

     What about mixing incense with the prayers of God's people?  I try not to get caught up into things which I don't understand until I get further understanding.  One Sunday, our pastor brought into the sanctuary a replica of the Ark of the Covenant, and he walked around the sanctuary with incense like the Catholics do; we are not Catholic.  Then he said we were to write down prayers and place them in this replica of the Ark of the Covenant.  It still sits there today; now he says that he is going to burn those written prayers since its been eighty-one days, and they will ascend unto God.  And then he said he’s going to do the same practice again.  Can you tell me if this ritual is practiced today and what he is doing?  And should I participate in this?  I didn't before.

 

Sincerely,
Skeptical

Dear Skeptical,

This is definitely not a New Testament practice… nor is it an Old Testament practice for that matter!  The Bible teaches that our prayers are the incense God wants to receive (Ps 141:2, Rev 8:4).  We never see the New Testament church burning incense as a form of worship, and the only people who were allowed to burn incense in the Old Testament were descendants of the high priest, Aaron (Num 4:16, 1 Sam. 2:28).  This preacher is adding to God’s Word and is absolutely in the wrong (Rev 22:18-19).