Hi, ya!  What is your take on "soul victims"?  I am Southern Baptist, and from what I can find, it is a Catholic thing… something about a soul that God has chosen to go through more in life than most people (trials and things, like Job, I guess).  I’m just wondering because sometimes I wonder when God is going to give me a break LOL!

Sincerely,
Hard-Pressed

Dear Hard-Pressed,

The teaching of ‘soul victims’ is a Catholic theology, not a Bible one.  According to victim soul doctrine, certain people are chosen by God to suffer more than others and to specifically partake in Christ-like pains.  According to Catholic tradition, these people experience mental and physical anguish, even exhibiting visible wounds in their hands and feet (like Christ did).  It isn’t just that these soul victims suffer more than others; it is that their sufferings help to complete what Jesus’ sufferings didn’t.  These soul victims are chosen by Jesus to appease the anger of His Father.

Now, here’s the truth: the Bible does teach that some people suffer more than others (Job is a great example of this), but it NEVER teaches that certain people are chosen by Jesus to suffer or die to satisfy the Father’s anger – this is totally blasphemous.  The Father, just like the Son, finds no pleasure in our pain and suffering.  God may discipline us, but that is always for our long-term good, not harm (Heb 12:7-9).  Jesus’ blood atones for our sins (1 Jn 1:7); no one else’s blood can do that.  The idea that certain people are “victims” to help atone for others’ sins directly contradicts Bible teaching.

I had a falling out with a childhood friend after decades of friendship.  I had been a support to this friend through a painful divorce, financial issues, and helping him find his way. In the end, this friendship turned out to be destructive.  I finally stood up for myself and told him that I just couldn't do this anymore. What I didn't expect was a profane and a rather violent verbal response. I was shocked!  Since this time, I have prayed to God for healing and understanding. I have come a long way in this process, but I have a question. You see, I've reached out to this person in forgiveness ... peace ... and attempted to understand where he is coming from.  I feel God wants us to live in PEACE and FORGIVENESS, so that is what I've tried to do.  My question is: what would God have us do when we reach out in peace and forgiveness, and it is only met with hostility and more anger?  I would like to know what it is that God expects of us when things like this happens in our lives.  I have forgiven him for the hatefulness and unkind words (even though he didn't ask for forgiveness)... but do I continue to seek out peace or let it go and just let God work on it?  Thank you.

Sincerely,
Mending Fences

Dear Mending Fences,

You do what you can, and then you let it go.  God says that “as much as it depends on you, be at peace with all men” (Rom 12:18).  You must do everything that you can to mend the wounds of your friendship, and then leave the rest to God.  “As much as depends on you” means that not everything does depend on you.  All relationships with other human beings are two-way streets.  If you have tried sincerely, honestly, and completely to do your part to make things work… you’ve done your part.

I want to know, is it wrong to smoke cigarettes?

Sincerely,
Burn Baby Burn

Dear Burn Baby Burn,

Yes, cigarette smoking is wrong.  There is no direct verse that condemns smoking, but there are many verses that indirectly condemn it.

1. Cigarettes are known poisons.  There was a time when people were unaware of the effects of cigarettes upon the human body, but we now know that there is no redeeming health value to cigarettes.  Cigarettes directly poison the human body.  God tells us to treat the human body as a temple (1 Cor 6:19).  Purposefully poisoning your body is not exactly honoring that command.
2. Cigarettes are known to be highly addictive.  Cigarettes are designed to get people addicted to them, so that one will do just about anything to continue to get their “fix”.  Cigarettes become your master.  Christians cannot afford to have any master other than God (Matt 6:24).  Christians should never be brought under the power of anything other than God (1 Cor 6:12)
3. This life is a gift from God; He created us (Gen 1:27).  Christians are supposed to live lives that are preparing us for whatever work God has in store for us (2 Tim 2:21).  We are to purge ourselves of anything that would keep us from being the best servants to Jesus we can be.  If you die ten years early from cigarettes, who knows what work you will have failed to do?
4. Smoking not only harms you, it harms others.  Second-hand smoke is a known carcinogen and poison.  If you know that what you are doing is harming others, you must stop (Jas 4:17)

Whatever we do, it should be done to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31).  Cigarettes wouldn’t fit into the category of “glorifying God”.

We read somewhere that we are not to pray for people with a reprobate mind or a sinner.  Now we cannot find it.

Sincerely,
Verse Seeker

Dear Verse Seeker,

The verse you are looking for is 1 Jn 5:16.  That verse states that there is a certain time in which we shouldn’t pray that someone be forgiven.  When someone is “sinning unto death”, we shouldn’t ask God that they be forgiven.

Any time someone does something contrary to God’s Word, they sin (Rom 7:7).  However, many times christians sin inadvertently, accidently, or in a moment of weakness.  These sins can and are forgiven by God (1 Jn 1:9).  However, if someone chooses a lifestyle of sin, that is a different story.

When we reject God’s Word and flagrantly commit sins in full knowledge that it is rebellion against God, there is no longer a sacrifice for our sins (Heb 10:26).  If you know someone who has actively turned away from God, you are not supposed to pray that God forgive them; they have committed the “sin unto death”.  Their only hope is to turn again and repent of their sins (Acts 3:19).

I am wondering: if for a person to get saved, is confession the only thing that a Christian would have to do in order to seek forgiveness from God?  Do they have to rectify or make amends with their wrongs, too?  What if someone is in the process of being evil because they have committed a crime that someone else is receiving the punishment for (such as sixty years in prison) and they won't confess that they were in the wrong.  Do you think the Lord will forgive them when they had every opportunity in their life to confess their wrong and let the other person go free but failed to use the opportunity?  Shouldn't we be confessing our sins when it’s not convenient for us?  What do you think?  Please get back to me.

Sincerely,
Walk The Walk

Dear Walk The Walk,

God does require more of us than just to confess our sins.  God requires us to do several things to become a christian:

1. Hear God’s Word (Rom 10:17, Rom 1:16)
2. Believe God’s Word (Mk 16:16)
3. Confess Christ as Savior (Matt 10:32)
4. Repent of our sins (Acts 3:19, Acts 17:30)
5. Be baptized for salvation (Acts 2:31, 1 Pet 3:21)

Only after you have done all five of those things are you forgiven of your sins.  See our post “What Must I Do To Be Saved?” for more details.  Now back to your question.

One of the things God requires of us is repentance.  Repentance is more than just confessing your sins; repentance means ‘to change your mind’.  When someone repents of something, they not only feel sorrow, but they also do what they can to change their life.  In your example, a truly repentant person would confess their sin to the proper authorities, so that the innocent person could be set free from jail, and they could shoulder the burden of their own punishment.  When we repent, we “turn again” to start a new life (Acts 3:19).  Repenting doesn’t mean we will never sin again, but it does mean we have a different attitude toward sin.  When we repent of wicked behavior, we change our lifestyle to no longer include that behavior (Acts 8:22).  Repentance always involves works that are “worthy of repentance” (Acts 26:20).  Serving God is not merely lip service, but action (Jas 1:22).