Q: My sister's husband says that he is a prophet. Is that possible? How can people just declare themselves to be prophets or apostles or whatever? (For what it's worth, nobody in the family thinks my brother-in-law is prophet.)

A: Yes, it is possible. A prophet, back in Old Testament times or even now is simply someone through whom God speaks. In Old Testament times when we didn't have Bibles and Jesus hadn't yet given us direct access to speak to God personally, most of the communication with God was done through prophets. So if people wanted to know God's view of something, they would ask a prophet - who would presumably ask God. Another role of the prophets was to identify sin and call people to repent. So the prophets spoke for God. They were His voice and communicated things that Jesus would say Himself.

The role of prophets today isn't much different. People can pray directly to God and read His word (the Bible) - so there isn't as much need for prophets as they had in Old Testament times. But even today, a true prophet of God would simply speak for God - identifying sin, calling people to repentance, and exhorting people to live life God's way.

Now, the thing about true Biblical prophets of God is nobody who knows them believes them. Jesus explained this in Mark 6. He specifically said that a prophet is honored everywhere except in his own home town, home church and even among his relatives and family. Moreover, Jesus said if the people won't welcome or listen to the prophet, he should abandon them to their own fate and not waste his breath trying to convince anyone (that he is a prophet or that he's speaking on behalf of God).

So the fact that you have doubts or that nobody in your family is willing to believe that your brother-in-law is a prophet actually suggests to me that he might be a prophet!

Q: Is there a good test for knowing if you're truly saved? I mean I know I was saved when I gave my life to Christ. But is there something one could look at as a sort of barometer to know how you're doing as a Christian?

A: Well only God knows for sure because only God knows the true condition of each heart. You say that you gave your life to Christ. Is there tangible evidence of that? Are the choices you make and the life you're living radically different since you did that? Where have you yielded your own will to the will of Christ?

I'm not aware of any true litmus test to see how one is doing as a Christian. But you are wise to be asking the question. True Christians can be defined in a number of ways, depending on who you talk to. But the best proof is to examine yourself and your life regularly. True Christians, in my humble opinion, live examined lives. They're constantly holding their lives up to the image of Christ to see how they measure up. Over time, your life should look more and more like that of Christ.

For some good 'litmus paper' on this subject, I'd recommend you read Matthew 5-9. These chapters start where Jesus is preaching His famous Sermon on the Mount and in them He gives us what we know as The Beatitudes. Overall, it's Jesus' prescription for successful Christian living. So if you want to live an examined life, start there.

Q: Aren't all religions pretty much the same? I mean, does it really matter whether you're a Catholic or Hindu or Lutheran or Baptist?

A: Oh no, all religions are not "pretty much the same!" People often evaluate religions based on their differences --- because there are often fundamental differences in what they believe, how they live, etc. But the biggest difference is in who they worship. In other words, not all religions have the same definition of God.

Some religions add to the deity of God and some subtract from the deity of God. For example, the Catholics give deity (god-like powers) to the Virgin Mary and even to some people whom they recognize post mortem as saints. Or the Hindus have over 600,000 gods whom they worship. So even if they start with the same true God (as in the Catholics) --- they're worshipping a different God because their definition of God is larger than the Bible indicates is true.

Some religions subtract from the deity of God when they fail to recognize certain aspects of His being. Islam and Judaism, for example, both refuse to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. They don't believe He is who He says He is (God). So even though they both recognize the heritage of Abraham and started with the Old Testament God, the god they're worshipping today has a smaller definition than the Bible indicates is true.

When picking a religion, it is not so important as to focus on their different styles of worship, etc. But it is very important to focus on how they define God.