The Bible mentions adultery once in a while, and Jesus says that if you look at a woman and have lust in your heart, you commit adultery.  This seems logical to me IF you or the lady are married.  If not, isn't it fornication?  Or is it classified as adultery?  This affected me personally quite heavily, and now I'd just like to do the right thing, but it doesn't seem clear.  Would marrying someone that has already slept with a couple of people but not gotten married be adultery?  Thanks for considering.

Sincerely,
Wedlock Wondering

Dear Wedlock Wondering,

In order for adultery to happen, there has to be a marriage.  There are two terms used in your question: ‘adultery’ and ‘fornication’.  Both are similar, but not identical.  ‘Fornication’ is defined as ‘sexual immorality’.  The definition of ‘adultery’ is ‘an unlawful sex act committed by a married person’.  All adultery is fornication, but not all fornication is adultery.  The only people that can commit adultery are people that are married (hence the word ‘adultery’… you are adulterating the marriage).  All fornication is a sin (1 Cor 6:18) and should be avoided at all costs – whether you are married or not.  However, technically speaking, an unmarried person cannot commit adultery.

Do you think in the case of forced or arranged marriages you are really married in God’s eyes, especially if you did not want to marry that person in the first place?

Sincerely,
My Parents Made Me

Dear My Parents Made Me,

If you made a vow, even one you regret… you are bound to it (Eccl 5:4-5).  What we here at AYP think doesn’t matter; what matters is what the Scriptures say on the issue.  Jesus says that our ‘yes’ should be ‘yes’, and our ‘no’ should be ‘no’ (Matt 5:37).  Christianity is about living as people of truth, and that includes telling the truth.  If you made a promise to remain married to someone, then you are married.

I recently had sex without being married.  Can I be forgiven, and will I still go to heaven?

Sincerely,
Worried

Dear Worried,

Yes, you can be forgiven… but you need to change your lifestyle.  For a christian to be forgiven of a sin, they need to confess their sins (1 Jn 1:8-10) and then repent (Acts 3:19).  ‘Repent’ means ‘to change your mind’.  Part of true repentance is fleeing from future fornication (1 Cor 6:18).  You need to make sure that this single act doesn’t become a lifestyle.  Sincere confession and repentance are all that a christian needs to do to receive forgiveness – however, if you are not yet a christian, you also need to be baptized to receive salvation (1 Pet 3:21, Mk 16:16, Acts 2:38).  If you would like help finding a faithful church to attend where you can start a new life with the hope of heaven, e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org, and we will help you locate a group of God-fearing believers in your area.

I have a question about Jesus and how I can be baptized in the Holy Spirit.  It says in the Bible that the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, and they talked in tongues, right?  So I’m wondering why I can’t speak in tongues; I’ve gone up to the front at church a long time ago when I was young and was prayed over, but no tongues ever came out of me.  Does this mean I’m not God’s child?  Am I doomed?  I know it sounds dumb, but I need help; I don’t know what to think.  I don’t want to go up there again ever; I’m scared now.

Sincerely,
Tongue-Tied

Dear Tongue-Tied,

You don’t need to speak in tongues to be saved… which is a good thing because nobody speaks in tongues anymore.  Holy Spirit baptism was a miraculous event that happened to the apostles on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).  The only other time that Holy Spirit baptism occurred was at the first Gentile conversion (it was given as a sign to Peter that it was okay for non-Jews to become christians – Acts 10:45-48).

Holy Spirit baptism is not what saves you; water baptism is what saves you (Acts 8:36, Mk 16:16, 1 Pet 3:21).  The Holy Spirit provided certain people with the ability to perform miracles.  Other than the apostles, christians received these miraculous abilities by the laying on of the apostles’ hands (Acts 8:16-19).  Doing the math, that means that the last person to have miraculous abilities (like speaking in tongues) had to have lived at the same time as the apostles.  The last apostle died over 1,900 years ago!  Any church that tells you that you have to speak in tongues, prophesy, perform miracles, etc. to be saved is lying to you and misapplying the Scriptures.  We recommend you read “What Must I Do To Be Saved?”, so you can see what the Bible really says about salvation.  If you would like help finding a faithful, Bible-following church in your area, feel free to e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.

Were Adam and Eve the first Jews and monotheists?  If not, who was the first race, and when did that one race start believing in many gods?

Sincerely,
Race To The Start

Dear Race To The Start,

We all come from Adam and Eve (Gen 3:20).  Therefore, we are all of the same race – the human race.  Racism, bigotry, racial pride, etc. are all manmade ideals and have nothing to do with Biblical principles and teachings.

Adam and Eve were not Jews.  The Jewish nation began with a man named Jacob (Jacob was also named Israel – Gen 32:28) and his twelve sons.  The descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob became the nation of Israel (Gen 49:28 – twelve sons = twelve tribes).  It is that nation that was first known as the Jewish nation.

As for when people first started believing in multiple gods… the Bible doesn’t tell us when it started.  It may have started as early as the tower of Babel (Gen 11:8-9), but we do not have a Biblical (or secular) record of when polytheism began.