I am troubled and need advice. I am 78 years old. I want to go to heaven when I die but due to my past, I am not sure this will happen. I have always believed that God and Jesus were real but during my life I was a terrible sinner. I committed adultery many times, stole, cursed, and lied all the time. I have asked Jesus to forgive me and let me be born again so that I might be allowed to enter heaven when I die. I pray every day confessing my sins, I ask that my family be protected. What else must I do to become a child of God? I know that God and Jesus exist but I also know what I have done. I don’t know if I will be forgiven of my sins and enter heaven when the time comes to be judged. Please give me your thoughts and advice. I need help.

Since my husband broke our marriage covenant when he committed adultery, does this mean that we are no longer married before God? Since adultery is biblical grounds for divorce, does that mean our covenant remains broken until we create a new covenant? Or is the fact that we are reconciling renew the covenant?

I read your article where you explain how Matthew 24:36-50 is not about the rapture, and I have to say that what you wrote makes absolute sense. I have a question about Matt. 24:36, 42, 44, 50 and Matt. 25:13. They clearly state that the day and the hour of the 2nd coming are not known. But the length of the Great Tribulation will be known and then the Lord will return. You mention a period of time between the end of the tribulation and the 2nd coming of Christ. Is this spoken or taught in other parts of the Bible? Or is it just a conclusion you reached by analyzing the scriptures which say that nobody knows the day or the hour?

I know you’re a firm believer in OSAS. I had an uncle who preached the gospel in his church, led many to God over the years, had a great testimony in the church and community. Somewhere along the way, he fell into a grievous sexual sin. He got found out, left the church, walked away from God. He made fun of those who continued to follow God. Are you telling me that he was saved and when he died he went to heaven?

I have confessed my sins to God and repent and grieve over committing sins I fully knew were sins. I’ll admit He already knew them anyway. I can certainly understand confessing adultery to a spouse because he/she is the one sinned against. But what about other sins like abortion or pornography? Do you publicly tell your family members in order to confess?

You made a comment on one of the questions about the Parable of the Sower relating to the third kind of seed sown where thorns choked out the seed making it unfruitful. You summed it up by saying we’re saved because of what we believe not because of how we behave. Though I understand in principle, saved by grace, not by works, doesn’t what we believe produce how we behave? I have always understood that a true believer will always bear some fruit. Isn’t it possible that the group you referred to as “Most born-again Christians in the US today fall into this category”, profess to be Christians but in actuality are not true believers?

In John 8:10-11 Jesus is quoted: “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” Was Jesus really saying, “If you continue in your sin of adultery, I may not be here to save you again from stoning?” In reality we can not stop sinning all together until we are perfected in heaven.

For another question: John 10:30 Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” Does this mean that when Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day after his death, he in fact raised himself from the dead? I believe the Bible says that God the Father raised him but he is God also.

In Revelation 5, John weeps bitterly (or convulsively) for no one is found worthy to open the scroll. The passages are clear that nobody in Heaven, on Earth, nor under the Earth was (or is) worthy. Where then was Jesus before He appeared and took the scroll? John seems to indicate that the Lamb appeared freshly slain. So was John taken back to crucifixion? It seems while Jesus was on the cross bearing sin, He wouldn’t be technically worthy. Or was John in the future, and at the time John was weeping Jesus was in transit to the Father and was not found at that particular moment.

In Joshua 5:13-15, Joshua met a figure that appeared out of nowhere with a sword in his hands. Joshua asked who is he and he answered he is the Commander of the Army of lord, Joshua fell and worshiped him. Since angels like Micheal doesn’t need human to worship, that figure couldn’t be an angel. Maybe you can enlightened me on this point.

I believe in justification being a one time thing. But people in my small group say you have to be sanctified also and that takes time. Could you please expand on what sanctification is and whether it’s something we do or God does. I would like to know how long sanctification takes and how do we know when it’s been completed enough to now feel confident that we’re going to make it to glorification.