I don't want to go to hell, and I want to know what to do to enter heaven.  Lately, I have been feeling guilty like I am hell-bound.  I have prayed to be saved, but I still feel helpless.

Sincerely,
Needing Grace

Dear Needing Grace,

The Bible outlines five things you must do to become a christian. The question, “What must I do to be saved?” is the most important question any human can ever ask. Plenty of groups will pick and choose what they want to focus on. Many groups say that all you must do is “believe in your heart” and you will be saved – unfortunately, this is cherry-picking out one requirement and leaving the rest behind. We must always remember that the sum of God’s Word provides the truth (Ps 119:160). Belief is obviously an important element to salvation, but it is not the only condition. The Bible outlines five separate requirements for salvation, and all of them are necessary.

1. Hear the Word. Faith comes through hearing, and hearing comes through the Word of God (Rom 10:17). Until someone hears God’s Word, they are incapable of obeying it.
2. Believe the Word. It is impossible for someone to become a christian unless they believe that Jesus is the Savior and Son of God (Jhn 20:31, Acts 16:31, Jhn 3:16).
3. Repent of your sins. ‘Repent’ means to ‘change your mind’. That change of mind always involves a change of action as well. Repentance is when we change our mind about what is important and submit ourselves to Jesus and His Word. Repentance is a necessity of salvation (Mk 6:12, Lk 13:5, Lk 15:7).
4. Confess Jesus to others. If we have sworn our allegiance to Jesus, we must be prepared to publicly confess Him as our Lord. If we won’t confess Jesus before men, He won’t confess us before God (Matt 10:32-33, Lk 12:8-9).
5. Be baptized in the name of Jesus for salvation. Many groups baptize people, but very few baptize people for the right reasons. Baptism isn’t merely an “outward showing of an inward faith” or “for membership”. Baptism is what saves us (1 Pet 3:21). Baptism is the point where someone goes from being lost to saved because they are buried and resurrected with Christ (Rom 6:4-5). Baptism is the final requirement to become a christian (Acts 2:37-38, Mk 16:16, Acts 2:41). There is not a single example of someone becoming a christian without baptism. Baptism is just as necessary as the other four requirements.

After that, there remains nothing else but to find a faithful congregation to assemble with (Heb 10:24) that teaches God’s Word and God’s Word only (see “Finding a Church” for more details) and to continue to grow in knowledge and practice of God’s Word (1 Pet 2:2).  If you would like help finding a faithful church in your area – simply e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org and we would be happy to help you locate one.

     Does God see it as wrong or sinful for interracial couples (black/white) to be together, dating, or married?

Sincerely,
Color Blind

Dear Color Blind,

There is absolutely nothing wrong with interracial marriage.  We are all descendants of Adam and Eve (Gen 3:20), and, therefore, race is a moot point.  Secondly, in Christ, such things as race have no significance (Gal 3:27-28).  The only concern you should have when falling in love and marrying is whether or not they are “in the Lord”, i.e. a Christian (1 Cor 7:39).

     Why is it that the body is divided over whether or not one should forgive someone even if they don't repent?  I shared an article entitled "No Remorse", and a brother's response was that "Jesus never commanded us to forgive others who aren't willing to repent. Stop telling people they should. Stop making yourself better than God." I even showed him Romans 12:14-21 as well as Luke 6:27-36. His response was that:

 "Nothing in that passage is about forgiveness and does not negate what Jesus said in Luke.  That was your passage, remember, but now you don't like it so much, do you, because it contradicts what you are trying to prove.  But it still says, ‘if they repent’.  You are confused on several levels: repentance, forgiveness, vengeance, and doing good all are different concepts… and should not be confused with each other!"

Is there anything I'm missing?  Am I wrong?  Is this a possible "letter of the law" thought on his part?  Help!  I need understanding!

Sincerely,
Forgive or Forget

Dear Forgive Or Forget,

Your friend is correct (although perhaps a bit rough in his delivery), and there are a couple of concepts you are getting confused with each other.  Forgiveness means that you no longer hold someone accountable for what they have done – you cancel the debt.  God is willing to do that for anyone, but He only does it for those who repent and return to Him (Acts 8:22).  We must do the same.  The teaching of Lk 17:3 states that we must forgive when someone repents.

However, even if someone doesn’t repent, we must still do good to them, and we must still show them love.  The Bible specifically says that in the verses you mentioned.  This, too, is exactly like what God does here on Earth.  God causes the rain to fall on both the righteous and the unrighteous (Matt 5:45).  God gives rain to the crops of evil farmers, too!

Furthermore, God warns us that we are not allowed to take revenge for the times when people mistreat us (Rom 12:19).  Vengeance is God’s job, not ours.  Just because someone isn’t repentant, that doesn’t give us the right to seek to cause them harm or take justice into our own hands.

So, to sum up, when a Christian is confronted with an unrepentant person, we aren’t expected to cancel the debt, but we are expected to treat them with love and respect and not to seek revenge.

A great example of this can be found in 1 Cor 5:1.  The apostle Paul rebuked the church at Corinth because there was a member in that congregation that was committing fornication with his father’s wife – definitely a sin.  The man knew it was wrong, accepted that it was wrong, and still continued to live that lifestyle… he was unrepentant.  Paul said the church needed to rebuke him and withdraw from him (1 Cor 5:13).  However, Paul also said that church discipline should be out of love (2 Thess 3:15) and that it should be done out of a desire to help, not to harm.  The church at Corinth did exactly that, and eventually, the man came back and repented.  When he did that, Paul commanded them to embrace him and forgive (2 Cor 2:6-8).  Kindness, love, and a vengeance-free attitude were shown at all times, but forgiveness was only shown when repentance occurred.

     I am so hurt right now and confused.  I don’t know what to do; all my husband wants to do is yell and cuss at me for the least little thing; he gets angry easily and then tries to come up and love and wonders why I am not talking.  It is hard to love on someone who is always angry, yelling, and cussing.  I have talked to him about it, and he will do good for awhile; then it is the same all over again.  I love God.  I pray; I try to be patient, but it is hard.  What do I do?

Sincerely,
Feeling Raw

Dear Feeling Raw,

Our hearts really and truly go out to you – you are obviously “unequally yoked” in spiritual matters (2 Cor 6:14).  There is no simple answer in this case, but there are some principles that you should consider.  It is a very difficult road to be married when it isn’t the fairy tale that people expect.  So what is the answer?

God says that your greatest tool of influence on your husband is your godly behavior.  1 Pet 3:1-2 says that the most effective influence a wife can have is her behavior.  It isn’t the words that you say that will have the most impact; it is the godly life you live.  When your choices show that you put God first and that your fear and respect of the Lord is the guiding light of your life, it will influence your husband.

Being faithful in a difficult marriage is hard, and our hearts go out to you in your struggle.  You are doing the right thing, and how you feel is totally normal.  Just remember, all things can work together for God if we trust in the Lord (Rom 8:28).  You mentioned that your husband has tried to change in the past.  That is a wonderful thing because it means that he wants to be better.  That is hope for the future.

     Can God read minds?

Sincerely,
What Am I Thinking?

Dear What Am I Thinking,

God is the only one to be noted to have the ability to see into our hearts (Acts 1:24) and read our minds (Lk 11:17).  Yes, God can read your mind.