I have been a christian for twenty years.  After being saved for one year, I began to fall into pornography.  It was very bad after a few years, and then it began to get better and better over the years.  But still, every month or even two weeks, I commit a sin in this area.  Was I really saved?  And if so, how do I have true repentance?  Please help.

Sincerely,
Lost One

Dear Lost One,

If you properly followed God’s commands to receive salvation (Read “What Must I Do To Be Saved” for more details), then you were saved.  However, you are right that this sin is deeply entrenched in your life, and you need permanent repentance.  We are told that a powerful tool in defeating sin is confessing our sins to one another (Jas 5:16Jas 5:16
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16 Confess therefore your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working.  

WP-Bible plugin).  Sin likes to be kept secret (Jhn 3:20Jhn 3:20
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20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, lest his works should be reproved.  

WP-Bible plugin), and bringing it to light by making it public goes a long way in defeating habitual sin.  A very popular way of getting this sort of accountability is by using accountability software that forwards your browsing history to a friend or trusted individual.  Companies like x3watch and CovenantEyes make accountability software, and many struggling pornography addicts have found it to make a huge difference.  If you want to defeat sin, you must expose it.  Confess your sin to others, and you will begin to see change.

Must I be baptized in order to receive forgiveness of my sins?

Sincerely,
What’s In The Water?

Dear What’s In The Water,

Yes.  There are no examples of people becoming christians without baptism (the thief on the cross was not a christian… Jesus hadn’t died yet – read “The Thief On The Cross” for more details on that situation).  When people asked how to be saved in Acts 2:37Acts 2:37
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37 Now when they heard [this,] they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do?  

WP-Bible plugin, Peter told them that they would be saved when they repented and were baptized (Acts 2:38Acts 2:38
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38 And Peter [said] unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  

WP-Bible plugin).  Mk 16:16Mk 16:16
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16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned.  

WP-Bible plugin says that we are saved when we believe and are baptized.  1 Pet 3:211 Pet 3:21
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21 which also after a true likeness doth now save you, [even] baptism, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the interrogation of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ;  

WP-Bible plugin says that baptism saves you, and Rom 6:4Rom 6:4
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4 We were buried therefore with him through baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.  

WP-Bible plugin says that we receive a new life in Christ when we come out of the baptismal waters.  Paul was immediately baptized (even before breaking a three day fast) when he had the Gospel preached to him (Acts 9:18-19Acts 9:18-19
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18 And straightway there fell from his eyes as it were scales, and he received his sight; and he arose and was baptized; ¹⁹ and he took food and was strengthened. And he was certain days with the disciples that were at Damascus.  

WP-Bible plugin).  The Ethiopian eunuch asked to be baptized after Philip preached to him about Jesus (Acts 8:36-38Acts 8:36-38
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36 And as they went on the way, they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch saith, Behold, [here is] water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? ³⁷ [And Philip said, If thou believest with all thy heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.] ³⁸ And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.  

WP-Bible plugin).  Acts 22:16Acts 22:16
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16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name.  

WP-Bible plugin says that your sins are washed away in baptism, and Gal 3:27Gal 3:27
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27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ.  

WP-Bible plugin says that we put on Christ when we are baptized.  All of these verses (and many more that we haven’t cited) clearly prove that baptism forgives you of your sins.  Baptism isn’t the end of your christian journey, it is the beginning… until you are baptized, you are still lost in your sins.

When Jesus hung on the cross, He said, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they do.”  Who were the ‘they’?  Those standing there?  All those who were involved in His crucifixion?  Or the whole world?  If it was the whole world, then the whole world and everybody in it at that moment and time forward would be forgiven their sins.

Sincerely,
Translate That

Dear Translate That,

Jesus was asking God to not hold that particular sin against the people who were crucifying Him (Lk 23:34Lk 23:34
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34 And Jesus said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And parting his garments among them, they cast lots.  

WP-Bible plugin).  That statement was not a blanket statement that saved all mankind, regardless of their choices, from sin.  Jesus made it very clear that everyone has a choice.  We can take the wide road to destruction or the narrow road to salvation (Matt 7:13Matt 7:13
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13 Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby.  

WP-Bible plugin).  Jesus is the way to salvation, and we must choose to follow Him (Jhn 14:6Jhn 14:6
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6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me.  

WP-Bible plugin).  After Christ’s death, Peter preached that we must choose to repent and be baptized if we want to receive forgiveness from our sins (Acts 2:36-38Acts 2:36-38
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36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly, that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom ye crucified. ³⁷ Now when they heard [this,] they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? ³⁸ And Peter [said] unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  

WP-Bible plugin).  Salvation is a free gift offered to the whole world (Jhn 3:16Jhn 3:16
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16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.  

WP-Bible plugin), but we must choose to take advantage of that gift (Acts 2:40Acts 2:40
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40 And with many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation.  

WP-Bible plugin).

[This question is a follow-up to “There Can Be Only One”]

Why are all the other religions wrong?  Are 1.5 billion people going to heaven while 4.5 billion will burn in hell?  It almost doesn’t seem like the fair and loving God I would worship.

Sincerely,
All-Inclusive

Dear All-Inclusive,

God is perfectly fair – we just aren’t very grateful for what He has offered us.  There is nothing unfair about God’s plan of salvation.  Everyone can be saved in Christ (Jhn 3:16Jhn 3:16
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16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.  

WP-Bible plugin).  Jesus opened a door to salvation that anyone can walk through.  Anyone that desires to have salvation through Christ can have it (Rev 3:20Rev 3:20
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20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.  

WP-Bible plugin).  It isn’t His fault that many people spurn His invitation.  Which road we take is our choice (Matt 7:13Matt 7:13
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13 Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby.  

WP-Bible plugin).

I have pondered about the idea of a messiah.  It seemed to me that all cultures and religions have a savior.  It seems to me quite possible that God sent His son, or Himself, or the third iteration of Himself (however one interprets the messiah) to all different peoples to lead them around the same time, essentially.  And presently, Satan exploits this to make humans fight each other because we all worship the same god.  So any theism works… that is what I’m trying to say and what I think.

Is Jesus Christ special, or was Isus the Egyptian messiah, or Allah, or Krishnu, or Jehovah just as good?

Sincerely,
Open Minded

Dear Open Minded,

Jesus is special, and He left no room for other gods.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jhn 14:6Jhn 14:6
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6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me.  

WP-Bible plugin).  Jesus was either the one and only Messiah – or He was a crazy lunatic.  Jesus teaches that we can only have one Master (Matt 23:10Matt 23:10
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10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your master, [even] the Christ.  

WP-Bible plugin) and that serving anyone else is a sin.  Jesus taught that we either confess Him as the Christ, or we will be denied before God (Lk 12:8-9Lk 12:8-9
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8 And I say unto you, Every one who shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: ⁹ but he that denieth me in the presence of men shall be denied in the presence of the angels of God.  

WP-Bible plugin).  Jesus cannot coexist with other gods.  The Bible is clear – there can be only one (Eph 4:4-6Eph 4:4-6
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4 [There is] one body, and one Spirit, even as also ye were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.  

WP-Bible plugin).  Isus, Allah, Krishnu, etc. are all false gods.

Hi, preacher.  I have a question: I’m thinking about joining the army to help people in Iraq, and I know that the Bible says to love thy neighbor and not kill, but if I’m doing it for the greater good, would it be a sin if I were to be killed?

Sincerely,
In The Crosshairs

Dear In The Crosshairs,

There is nothing wrong with being a soldier.  The Bible is full of soldiers that were also very faithful people.  King David battled Goliath (1 Sam 17:48-501 Sam 17:48-50
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48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. ⁴⁹ And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth. ⁵⁰ So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.  

WP-Bible plugin).  The first Gentile convert to Christianity was a Roman soldier (Acts 10:22Acts 10:22
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22 And they said, Cornelius a centurion, a righteous man and one that feareth God, and well reported of by all the nation of the Jews, was warned [of God] by a holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words from thee.  

WP-Bible plugin).  Being a soldier and killing someone in battle is not the same as murdering someone in cold blood.  People don’t go to hell for being soldiers, but they do go to hell for being murderers (Rev 21:8Rev 21:8
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8 But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part [shall be] in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.  

WP-Bible plugin).  If you died on the battlefield (hopefully that won’t happen), that would not destine you to eternity away from God.

We do recommend that you gravely consider the state of your soul and relationship with God before enlisting.  Being a soldier is a hazardous job, and it accentuates the need to be prepared to meet your Maker.  Please read “What I Must Do To Be Saved?” for more information on what God says we must do to receive salvation.