Strive to seek godly wisdom and understanding

Dear Chaplain: Do you become a Christian by getting baptized? — Signed, Thirteen and Thinking Dear Thirteen and Thinking: Thank you so much for you question and your curiosity. You do not become a Christian by being baptized. You become a Christian when you believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God, who came to earth in the flesh through the virgin Mary, to die on the cross for our sins, so that we all can be forgiven and resurrected like Christ, to live forever in heaven with him and other believers. In other words, what makes a person Christian is believing on Christ. It is our faith, who we put our trust in, that makes us Christians, not the act of baptism. We can be certain of this because Jesus told the man who was on a cross next to him when he was being crucified, “Today you will be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43), after the man confessed his faith in him. That man did not get down from the cross to be baptized. Jesus showed us that faith alone makes us followers of Christ. This does not mean, however, that we shouldn’t be baptized. Everyone who is able should be baptized once they believe because it is one of the 3 ordinances that Jesus himself instructed us to always keep (baptism, foot washing and communion). Baptism is important because it is an outward symbol of an inward change. It is visual demonstration to the church and the world that we have been spiritually cleansed and we are new creatures in Christ. Therefore when we die, like Christ, we will also be raised again to new life. Thank you again for your question and I encourage you to keep thinking and seeking Godly wisdom and understanding.

Dear Chaplain: In the Old Testament God separated a select group of people from other people on earth, then he wanted them to stick with their own kind. Is God prejudiced? — Signed, He Separates

Dear He Separates: Thanks so much for such an interesting question. God is not prejudiced. He does not prejudge or dislike people based on how they look or what they believe. He’s God. We were each uniquely “handmade by Him,” in heaven. He created our facial features, our skin color, and our hair texture. He’s also omniscient, meaning he knows everything there is to knowabout us. God adores us just aswe are. Like any parent he is our biggest cheerleader and our #1 fan. We canmake his heart smile. He is always with us, even through our darkest hours. He wants us all to win. With that being said, it is true in the Old Testament times God did choose a group of people to separate fromthe rest of the people on earth. But as believers, we trust that God is always good and we know when he separates it’s for a divine purpose, which is to reveal his glory, not to be hateful, demeaning, or vicious. Sometimes things have to be separated for a period of time tomake them even better. God demonstrated this in the beginning when he separated the light from darkness, creating day and night; when he separated the expanse from the expanse and filled them with the moon and stars; and when he separated the waters from dry land, and filled the waters with fish and the land with vegetation and animals. He even separated Eve from Adam, and in my opinion filed them with his presence, forming the perfect, triune relationship between God and man. I firmly believe God separated the Children of Israel from other people on earth back then to teach us all about his holiness, his character, his ways, his laws, along with the benefits of obedience and the consequences of disobedience, so that one day we can all be joined together as a body of believers through Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, as the New Testament describes, so we’ll have an eternally perfect relationship with God and with other diverse nations of believers, in heaven. Ask the Chaplain is written by Rev. Dayna Spence, an ordained minister, licensed evangelist, and chaplain who’s served as a hospital chaplain and is currently serving as a hospice chaplain Chester County area. Please email “Ask the Chaplain” at 4thechaplain@gmail.com or write to, PO Box 1284, West Chester, PA 19380.