I have a question about voting.  Is it okay for a Christian to vote for a candidate that openly endorses gay marriage... say, Obama?  I am confused; I know a bunch of people in my congregation voted for him last time, but I don't see how they could possibly justify it this time around.

Sincerely,
Ballot Baffled

Dear Ballot Baffled,

No candidate is perfect, so no matter how a Christian votes, they will be voting for someone with good and bad traits, so instead, let’s put specific candidates aside for a moment and just look at the principles of Christian voting.  It is possible for a Christian to have various attitudes towards how a government should be run financially, legally, etc., but it is flagrantly sinful for a Christian to support immoral government. Some Christians want big government; some Christians want small government. Some Christians want tax cuts; some Christians want tax increases. Some Christians want more regulations; some Christians want less regulations. All Christians should want godliness for their nation (Pr 14:34).

Homosexual “marriage”, the right to abortion (i.e. the right to kill babies), freedom of worship, etc. are issues that, regardless of other political views, a Christian must stand firm on. A Christian who supports homosexual “marriage” is supporting and endorsing sin. It is no different than Solomon building idolatrous temples for his wives – he sinned in condoning their sin (1 Kgs 11:4-9). A Christian that supports abortion condones the slaying of innocent children and has joined himself in the cause of the wicked. Christians should be vexed, like Lot was (2 Pet 2:7-8), at the immorality they see in the nation around them. We shall give account to God for even the most idle words we speak (Matt 12:36); how much more so for deliberate words and actions that support and endorse sin?

If Christians cease to be the salt of the earth that preserves the morality of a nation… what good are we (Matt 5:13)?

      If we are saved by grace, where does faith, God's love, and mercy fit into the plan of God?

Sincerely,
Pulling Together The Pieces

Dear Pulling Together The Pieces,

In Eph 2:8, it says that we are saved by grace through faith.  God’s grace makes it possible for us to receive salvation.  ‘Grace’ means ‘gift’, and God gave us the gift of salvation when He sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins (Col 2:14).  However, God also said that in order to receive the gift of salvation, we must place our faith in Jesus.  Jesus is the doorway to God’s grace (Jhn 10:7-9).

God’s love and mercy are why He sent Jesus to die for us – God loved us even while we were sinners (Rom 5:8).  Jesus’ death purchased our salvation and made God’s grace available to all (Tit 2:11), and faith is how we have access to that grace.  And last, but not least, God shows us how to have a living faith by giving us His Word (Rom 10:17).

James 5:14 talks about praying for someone who is sick and "anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord."  I frequently hear of people praying for the sick today, but I've never seen the elders of a church anoint a sick person with oil. Why don't we continue this practice today?

Sincerely, Olives On My Mind

Dear Olives On My Mind,

Anointing with oil was a medicinal practice to remove pain and speed up the healing of a sick person. Olive oil was used in the first century for everything from food to alleviating sunburns. We have to understand the statement in the context of the culture in which it was written. A first century christian would have understood James 5:14 as a call to prayer and a call to make sure the medical needs were taken care of for the ill person.

It is very similar to an earlier statement by James concerning faith and works. In Jas 2:14-17, James addresses the problem of a person that offers kind words without doing what they can to help another. An elder that prayed for a sick christian but didn’t use his authority within the church to get the needy person the necessary medical attention would have been neglecting his duties to shepherd the flock (1 Pet 5:2). Today, we don’t use olive oil to meet people’s medical needs, but the principle of doing what we can to care for them still applies.

Why did God give the Ten Commandments to the Jewish people and didn't save them for the Christians?

Sincerely,
Feeling Less Than A Ten

Dear Feeling Less Than A Ten,

God gave nine of those ten commandments to Christians, too.  Christians do obey nine of the ‘Ten Commandments’ because Christ thought nine of them were worth keeping in the New Testament.

1. Thou shalt not have any other god before me (Ex 20:3, 1 Cor 10:14)
   1. Thou shalt not make graven images or bow down to them (Ex 20:4-5, 1 Jhn 5:21)
   2. Thou shalt not take God’s name in vain (Ex 20:7, Heb 12:28)
   3. Honor thy father and mother (Ex 20:12, Eph 6:1-2)
   4. Thou shalt not kill (Ex 20:13, 1 Pet 4:15)
   5. Thou shalt not commit adultery (Ex 20:14, Heb 13:4)
   6. Thou shalt not steal (Ex 20:15, Eph 4:28)
   7. Thou shalt not bear false witness (Ex 20:16, Rev 21:8)
   8. Thou shalt not covet (Ex 20:17, Eph 5:3)

The only one of the ‘Ten Commandments’ left out is the keeping of the Sabbath (Ex 20:8). We are told that the Old Testament law, which includes the Ten Commandments, was meant to lead the Jews to Christ, but now that Jesus has come, the Old Law no longer binds us (Gal 3:24-25).  Christians aren’t bound to keep the Sabbath holy; Jews were. You have to keep the other nine though.

  I fell in love with my best friend, and we had sex once.  We were dating, and then she said she couldn’t have a sexual relationship with a woman; it’s against her beliefs.  We are the same sex.  Now she’s not talking to me but says she does love me.  I’m praying for God to bring her back in my life as my friend, but if she wants it to be more, that would be her choice.  Will she change her mind and still be my friend?

Sincerely,
Abandoned

Dear Abandoned,

We can’t tell you whether or not she will change her mind and be your friend again, but if we were advising you both, we would advise against a friendship after the trouble it has created for you.

God makes it clear that homosexual relationships are sinful (Rom 1:26-27).  The right thing to do is exactly what your friend did – flee fornication (1 Cor 6:18).  We are sorry you have lost a friend, but better to lose a friendship and start down a better path than to go to hell together (Matt 18:8).