My fiancée looks at porn, and I tell him that it's wrong in the Lord's eyes.  When I say that, he thinks I'm getting weird on him and says that it's not like he can ever meet these girls.  How can I tell him that it's still wrong?

Sincerely,
Appalled

Dear Appalled,

Your fiancée has a major problem with sexual sin.  God tells us to flee fornication (1 Cor 6:18) and that it is wrong for a man to lust after a woman (Matt 5:28).  His major sexual problem will very quickly become your major problem if you marry him while he still holds these views.  We cannot stress enough that you should think very carefully about marrying someone who will not cherish you as his one and only (Eph 5:33, 1 Cor 7:2).

I just got re-baptized for my sins; does that mean I am a virgin again since I was reborn?

Sincerely,
Starting Over

Dear Starting Over,

Becoming a christian through baptism gives you forgiveness of your sexual sin (Acts 2:38), but it doesn’t remove the fact that you are no longer a virgin.  Though the terminology “born again virgin” is a very popular catchphrase nowadays, it isn’t a Biblical one.  Many groups re-baptize people to remove their sexual choices, but that isn’t what the Bible teaches.  The Bible teaches that we are baptized once when we become christians (Mk 16:16, 1 Pet 3:21).  In the New Testament, there are no examples of people being baptized over and over again.

Christians recognize the flaws of their former lives and confess them (Jas 5:16).  Don’t mistake us; you absolutely can be forgiven of your sexual sins (1 Jn 1:9).  You aren’t the first person (nor will you be the last) that came from a checkered past (1 Cor 6:8-11).  Your sinful lifestyle of the past only makes the contrast of your new life more prominent.

Will God forgive adultery because I have committed adultery (and I am really ashamed, and I don't know what to do)?

Sincerely,
Ashamed

Dear Ashamed,

Yes, you can be forgiven, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences for your actions.  Paul said that he was chief amongst sinners, and yet, Christ forgave him (1 Tim 1:15-16).  Forgiveness is available when we confess our sins to Christ (1 Jn 1:9) and repent of them (Acts 3:19).  ‘Repentance’ means to ‘change your mind’… literally to make a change in how you think and act.  If you haven’t already stopped the adulterous relationship, you need to – now.  You also need to come clean about it; honesty and truth are a foundational concept in Christianity (Jhn 8:32).  Deception destroys; open truth illuminates (Jhn 3:19-20).  You have dug a big hole for yourself and your marriage… it is time to get to work filling that hole back in.

Of course, all of this is moot if you aren’t a christian yet.  To see what the Bible says it takes to become a christian, read “What Must I Do To Be Saved?”.  It is obvious you want God’s forgiveness, and the Bible is the only book that can tell you how to get it.

Can you be saved and not baptized?

Sincerely,
Looking For A Life Preserver

Dear Looking For A Life Preserver,

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.  It is impossible to be saved without being baptized.  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).

5 minutes a day
5 days a week
1 New Testament in a year

There are 261 weekdays in a year, and there are 260 chapters in the New Testament. By reading one chapter, Monday through Friday, you will read the whole New Testament by the end of the year. The Daily Cup series is to help with that goal.

Happy Studying!

"The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup." -- Psalm 16:5

Click here for a pdf of the study schedule - CLICK HERE