10 Spiritual Questions and Their Answers
Question 1: Why is there evil in the world?
If God exists, why is there evil in the world? You know, this is a difficult stumbling block and question for many people. The simplest way to look at this question is to examine God’s nature and his desire for mankind. Look at the logic. God loves us and wants us to love him back. And how could we love him back unless we have the freedom to not love?
God could have made us like robots who do nothing more than say, “I love you. I love you. I love you.” But we’d be forced to do that and that wouldn’t be real love. Love is a choice. And if you have a choice you have to be able to choose not to love and that in itself is the nature of evil. Evil is choosing not to love. So when God gave us the freedom to choose, he gave us not only our greatest blessing, but he also gave us our greatest curse because we can choose to do right or choose to do wrong.
The reason there’s evil in the world is not because of God, but because God gave us the freedom to choose. Now the potential for love outweighs the existence of evil, because you see, evil is only going to exist for a short time, but love is going to go on forever. And all of the suffering and all of the death that we see in the world today are the result because man has chosen to make wrong choices.
God could have taken our freedom, but He didn’t. I hope you’ll use your freedom to choose God.
Question 2: Is Jesus really God?
Well when you think about it you only have three options as to who Jesus Christ was. You see, Jesus claimed to be God. He said things like, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” He claimed to be God many, many times. Now, that means either:
- He is who he says He was
- He was the biggest liar in history or
- He was crazy, He was a lunatic on the order of the man who calls himself a fried egg.
You see, you can’t just say Jesus was a good man. I’ve had many friends who said, “Oh, I believe Jesus was a good man.” Well He couldn’t have been a good man and said those things He said. For instance, if I said to you, “I’m Rick Warren and I’m a good teacher and a good husband.” You might say, “Okay, I buy that.” But if I said to you, “I’m Rick Warren and I’m God and I’m the only way to heaven.” Well, you would have to make a decision. You couldn’t say I was a good person because a good person wouldn’t say that. You’d either say, “He is who he says he was, or he’s a liar or he’s crazy.”
Now Jesus didn’t just expect us to believe Him and take Him at His word. He said, “I’m going to prove the claim that I am God.” He said, “I’m going to let people kill me on a cross, then let them bury me. I’ll be dead for three days and then I’ll come back to life.” And, of course, that was the event that changed history. The resurrection of Jesus Christ. Every person since then refers to Jesus Christ, whether they believe in Him or not, every time you right a date, A.D. or B.C., what’s the reference point? Jesus Christ. Because it was the event that split history when Jesus proved that He was who He said He was, He is God.
Question 3: Do all religions lead to God?
Well now think about the logic of this. Can I go into a phone booth and dial any phone number and get home? No, there’s only one number that’ll get me home. I could be sincere, but I could be sincerely wrong. The truth is, all roads don’t lead to Rome and all roads and all religions don’t lead to God.
You see, it all depends on which direction you take. Jesus said this, “I am the way and the truth and the light. No one comes to the Father except through me.” I’m betting my life on the fact that He was right because I figured Jesus knows more about it than I did.
The Bible tells us that on the road to heaven, there are only two directions, toward Christ or away from Him. You can accept it or you can reject it, that’s your choice. You can make Jesus the Lord of your life, that means the manager, the ceo, the person in charge of your life, or you can call Him a liar, but that’s what the Bible declares.
You know a lot of people sincerely believe that even though they’ve broken God’s rules that they can earn God’s forgiveness by doing good works, by observing the Five Pillars of Islam or the Buddhist Eightfold Path or the Hindu Doctrine of Karma, for example. But I don’t get it. How will doing some good works that we should have done all our lives, make up for all the countless times we failed? You see, heaven is a perfect place and that means only perfect people get to go there. If not-perfect people were allowed in, it wouldn’t be perfect anymore. Well I don’t know about you, but I stopped being perfect a long time ago. So God came up with plan b. He came to earth in human form, Jesus Christ, and He lived a perfect life and now He offers to let us go to heaven on His ticket. And I pray that you will trust Jesus Christ and stop trying to bat a thousand because you ended up not doing that a long time ago and accept God’s free ticket through Jesus Christ.
Question 4: What’s going to happen to those people in the world who’ve never heard about Jesus Christ?
You may have heard this question put this way: “What about the person living in the jungle somewhere who’s never heard the good news about Jesus Christ? Are you christians saying that a person won’t go to heaven based solely on where he lives?” No, we’re not saying that. The Bible tells us that God doesn’t work that way. We understand that God is perfect in His love and perfect in His holiness and He’s perfectly just and fair. Therefore, it’s against God’s nature to be unfair. It’s against God’s nature to hide the ball on salvation or to condemn somebody who’s ignorant of his truth. In fact the scripture, the bible declares that God is loving and patient and not willing that anybody should perish. But He wants everybody to come to repentance, to come to know Him.
So if God is a perfectly loving and righteous God, then He will figure out ways to help people understand Him. He somehow reveals the simple truth of the gospel to people throughout the world. You know, I’ve talked to people who were missionaries in Africa who’ve told me that Jesus has revealed Himself through nature. When you look at nature you learn that God is organized, that God is creative, that God likes variety. But it’s when we look at Jesus Christ we realize that God is loving.
And as Christians we are called to tell the good news to other people. It’s God’s decision to decide what happens to people who haven’t heard about Him. But it is our decision to take that news to as many people as possible. And the bible says we will be held more responsible because we have heard and we have known that God is love, that God wants a relationship to us and that God will forgive us if we give our lives to Jesus Christ.
So, what do we do about those who haven’t heard? We tell them. First we accept God’s good news and then we tell them and we leave the result in the hands of a fair, loving and just God.
Question 5: What about all the wars that are caused in the name of Christianity?
Well first, let me say that a lot of things have been done in the name of Christianity that Jesus Christ would totally disavow. And just because someone claims to be a Christian doesn’t necessarily make him a follower of Christ, nor does it make him a representative of Jesus. It’s very, very important to distinguish between the bible kind of Christianity and the actions that have been taken throughout history by people who claim to be Christians but really didn’t know.
You see there’s a difference between religion and a relationship with God. Jesus is not interested in the religion of Christianity. He’s interested in you having a relationship to Him. Jesus never said, “I’ve come that you might have religion.” He said, “I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly.”
Now a lot of people have claimed to be followers of Christ but they’ve lived their lives contrary to His teaching. And we shouldn’t label that group Christian. But let me say this, have you ever seen a counterfeit dollar? Well, maybe you haven’t, but maybe you’ve heard of them. Why are there counterfeit dollars in the world? Well, I’ll tell you why. Because there are real dollars in the world. If there were no real dollars, there would be no counterfeits. And if you find counterfeit Christianity in the world, it must mean that somewhere there must be the real thing. The point is we don’t identify Jesus by claiming that all the things that were done in His name were done by Him. In fact, Jesus proffended His own disciples from defending themselves against the enemies when He said on a personal basis, He said, “I want you to turn the other cheek.”
So a lot of wars have been done in the name of Christianity that Jesus probably would have disavowed. The real issue is do you know Jesus Christ? You see, it doesn’t matter so much what has been done by hypocrites or phonies or false followers of Christ. What matters is do you know the real, true, genuine item? Have you ever turned your life over to Jesus Christ? If you haven’t, I would encourage you to investigate Him today.
Question 6: Is there any real right or wrong?
You know, you might have heard somebody say, “I don’t believe there’s such a thing as right or wrong.” Or maybe you’ve heard a professor say, “There are no absolutes.” Whenever I hear that I want to say, “Are you absolutely sure?” You have to ask yourself, “Is this statement even logical? Is there any right or wrong?” Because when people say, “There is no right or wrong, or it’s wrong for you to impose your morals on me,” think about it, by them telling you that, they are imposing their morals on you.
The fact is we all inheritantly know right from wrong and we just have this weird tendency to disregard it. To disregard morality when it conflicts with our desires for pleasure or personal gain. Now, sure, you might justify having an affair, but certainly you wouldn’t condone your spouse having one. Or you might justify taking something without permission, but if you were the one being robbed you wouldn’t think it was okay. You see the fact is, there isn’t a person alive today who’d come home from work and discover that their entire house had been robbed and say, “Oh, how wonderful that this burglar is able to enjoy all my things without my permission. And who am I to impose my view of right or wrong on this poor burglar?” You see how ridiculous that is? Of course.
Even those who claim there is no right or wrong have their own moral conscious, they’ve just set their own standards. Here’s a good way to determine right from wrong. Turn the situation around on yourself. Jesus said it best. He said, “Treat people the same way you want people to treat you.” You see we all know that murder and rape and lying and stealing and torture and injustice are absolutely wrong. Why? Because we wouldn’t want any of these things to happen to us. The person who would say, “there is no right or wrong,” would not agree that it was okay for them to be raped. No, when you turn it on yourself, you realize that even inside ourselves God has placed a moral conscious and that conscious tells us when we do right and when we do wrong. And when we violate our conscious, we need forgiveness. That’s why the bible said, “God sent Jesus to earth so that we might be forgiven of all of our wrong.”
Question 7: Why do I exist?
That’s the most fundamental question of life. What on earth am I here for?
Well, you need to understand God to answer that question. You see, the bible says, “God is love.” It doesn’t say He has love, it says He is love. It’s part of His nature, His character, it is the essence of His being. God is love. Now, love isn’t very valuable unless you bestow it on something and the bible says, “God made you to love you.” You were created as an object of God’s love. If you want to know why you’re taking breath right now, why your heart is beating, it’s because God made you to love you. It’s the sole reason. You were made to be loved by God and to bring Him pleasure.
Now God wants you to learn to love Him back and that’s the first purpose of your life, to get to know and love Him back. One day Jesus was walking down the street and a man came up and said, “What’s the most important command in the bible?” And Jesus said, “I’m going to summarize the entire bible in one sentence. Love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength.” That’s called the great commandment. And God wants you to get to know and love Him back. So that means when you get up in the morning, you should sit on the side of your bed and say, “God, if I don’t get anything else done today, I want to know you a little bit better and I want to love you a little bit more.” Because if at the end of the day you know God more and you love Him more, you have just fulfilled one of the purposes of your life.
If, on the other hand, you’ve accomplished all kinds of things and achieved many, many successes in life, but at the end of the day you don’t know God better or love Him more, you have missed the primary purpose of your life. Because God didn’t put you on this earth just to mark things off your to-do list. He put you here to know Him and love Him. That’s why you exist.
Question 8: What is my purpose in life?
Well the truth is, God created you for five purposes. You see, you were made by God and you were made for God. And until you understand that, life isn’t going to make sense. When you come to this question, what is my purpose, you only have three alternatives.
- First is what I call the mystical approach, and that is look within. You find this in a lot of talk shows, a lot of new age books a lot of seminars. They say, “look within to discover your purpose.” The only problem is that doesn’t work. We’ve all looked within and I didn’t like what I saw. It’s quite confusing. In fact, if you could know the purpose of your life by looking within, we’d all know it by now. It doesn’t work.
- The second way you can try to discover your purpose is called the intellectual or philosophical approach. And that’s where you go to a seminary class or university class and you sit there with a pipe and your latte and your coffee and you ask questions like, “Why am I here? Where did I come from? Where am I going?” I once read a book by professor John Morehead, the Head of the Department of Philosophy at Northeastern University in Illinois. And he wrote to 250 well-known intellectuals and asked them, “What is the meaning and purpose of life?” These were novelists, scientists, well-known intellectuals, and I read the book, it’s now out of print, it was quite depressing because most of the people said, “I have no idea what the purpose of life is.” Some of them admitted they just made up a purpose. And some of the admitted they guessed. And some of them said, “If you know the purpose, please tell me.”
- You see, there’s a better answer to speculation and that’s revelation. If I were to hold up an invention that you have never seen before, you wouldn’t know its purpose. The only way you’d know its purpose was either talk to the inventor, the creator who made it or read the owner’s manual. The owner’s manual of life is the bible and your Creator is God. And it is only as you get to know God you will discover his five purposes for your life. I hope you’ll begin that journey today.
Question 9: Does my life really matter?
Well, it’s a good question. You know, today we teach our kids that we’re all just one big cosmic accident. We came from the goo through the zoo to you over billions of years. Well, if that is true, in a nutshell it teaches that your life really doesn’t matter, you’re just the freak accident of random chance, you’re complex slime and you were an accident. And if you get accidentally killed, well, of course, that doesn’t matter. And that creates a lot of our sociological problems and a lot of our self-esteem issues.
But the truth is you are not an accident. You were created by a loving God who loves you and designed you with intricate detail in your life and when you understand that God made you to love you and that God made you to be a part of His family and that God made you to last forever, then you’re never going to have a problem with low self-esteem again.
It was Bertram Russell the atheist who once said, “Unless you assume the existence of God, then the purpose and meaning of life is irrelevant.” The truth is, if there is no God your life doesn’t matter. But because there is a God, God had a specific purpose in mind when He created you and you do matter. You matter because God created you. You matter because he sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross. If you want to know how much you matter, think of Jesus Christ with his arms outstretched saying, “I love you this much.”
Now, if you had to chose between a loved one and a material thing, even if that thing was priceless, you’d chose your loved one in a heartbeat. And when you’re on your deathbed, you’re not going to surround yourself with material possessions, you’re not going to say, “Bring me my trophies. Bring me my credentials. Bring me my certificates so I can look one more time at my grade point average.” No, you’re going to surround yourself with loved ones and everybody’s going to be crying because they’re going to miss you. You see, that’s how much you matter.
Personal relationships to God and to other people are the most important thing in life. And God wants you to know Him and He wants you to have a relationship with Him because you’re worth so much in God’s eyes that he sent His Son to die for you. I hope you’ll get to know Him very soon.
Question 10: Is there a real hell and why would a loving God send anyone there?
Well, first I believe in hell because Jesus talked about it. In fact, Jesus talked more about hell then He did heaven. He said it is a real place and it is a place of eternal torment. And I believe Jesus knows more about it than either you or I.
But second, I believe in hell because logic and fairness demand it. Think of all the atrocities and evil that have been done throughout history by evildoers in this world. For God to allow those crimes to go unpunished would mean that God is not worthy of our worship and love.
Now why would a loving God send anyone to hell? Well in a nutshell, God doesn’t. God doesn’t send anybody to hell. We choose to go there when we reject the love of God. If I were to say to my right is a door heading to heaven, and to my left is a door heading to hell, if you walk out the door heading to hell, you don’t have anybody to blame but yourself.
In fact, the bible tells us that God does almost everything – well everything possible to keep us out of hell. He cared so much to keep us out of hell that he sent Jesus Christ to come to earth, to die on the cross, to pay for our sins so that we don’t have to pay for them. He wants to set us free. He wants to give us forgiveness. God made us in his image and He gave us the ultimate power to say yes or no.
Now if we chose to reject God here on earth, then we, at the same time, are choosing to spend eternity separated from Him. You see, there are only two people in the world – two kinds of people. Those who say, “Thy will be done here to God on earth” and those to whom God says, “Your will be done,” when we say, “I want to do it my way.” And if we say, “God I don’t want you in my life while I’m here on earth,” then God says, “I don’t want you in my heaven for eternity.”
You don’t have to go to hell. In fact, Jesus Christ has made it possible for you to go to heaven. Open your heart to Him and say, “Jesus Christ, I need you, I want you, I trust you and I ask you to forgive me.” And He’ll come in and save you.
You can begin your journey today! Learn more about how you can discover purpose in your life.
If you have a question that wasn’t asked in this list,
Hi Vanessa,
The question of whether or not you’re going to Heaven is a really important one. I’m glad to be able to tell you that you can know 100% for sure if you’re going to Heaven or not. You said that you believe in God and that’s a great start. Have you ever prayed and asked God to forgive your sins and come into your life? The Bible tells us that everyone has sinned and that our sin separates us from God. There’s nothing we could do to be good enough, clean enough to be worthy of Heaven on our own so God sent his own son, Jesus to save us. The Bible tells us that Jesus lived a perfect life – he never sinned. He died on a cross in our place taking the punishment that we deserved. If we accept Jesus as our Saviour, if we ask forgiveness for our sins and invite him into our lives then we will be saved. If you’ve never prayed a prayer like that before you can pray something like this:
Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be. Amen
If you pray that prayer you can know for sure that you’ll go to Heaven. You can read more about salvation here. If you do pray, please let us know. We can set you up with a mentor who can answer any questions you have and help you learn what it means to live a Christian life.
Can I pray for you right now?
God in Heaven, I’m here to pray for Vanessa. She is searching God and you say in the Bible that when we seek you we will find you. I pray that you would reveal yourself to Vanessa today. If she has questions help her to find answers. If she needs peace, grant her peace. Be close to her today I pray, Amen.
I have made a lot of sins but i was mainly told to belive in god and i want to belive in him myself. but i have made alot of sins. I love god and i belive he died for me. But for some reason i think im not going to heaven but i do not worship saitin. Am i going to heavan or hell?i need an answer!
Hi Tim, what is it about the way Jesus is portrayed that makes you think that He is a collage rather than a person?
I don’t think “Legend” is an option–although it does fit very nicely with the whole alliteration thing :) You see the documents about Him were written by eyewitnesses and were widely dispersed among a population that had many more eyewitnesses. Anything that was exaggerated or manufactured would have been easily identified and dismissed as fraudulent. Not only that but the men who wrote those documents–if they had been fabricated–would have known that what they were promoting was a lie. And yet each one of them suffered severely for their faith and though they were given opportunity to recant instead of suffering and dying, not one of them said that they had told a lie. I know there a many people who have died for a lie that they did not know was a lie, but I can’t think of situations where people willing suffer and die for something that they know is a lie.
So I don’t think Legend is a valid option in this situation. I think the documents have had substantial scrutiny over the years and there has never been any valid critique on their authenticity. I think we are left with the three L’s: Liar, Lunatic, Lord. Which do you think He was?
Liar, lunatic, lord or legend. Legend being the more likely since the character of Jesus seems to be more a collage than one person.
Thank you jamie.
Bless you..
You preying for me meant alot.
Thank you..
Hi Giving Up, you are looking in the right place. The Apostle Paul experienced the same thing you are describing. In Romans 7 he wrote, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do– this I keep on doing…What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God– through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:18-19,24-25) Jesus is the only one who can save you from the grip that sin and temptation have on your life.
Let me invite you to go to an article series called “How You Can Walk In The Spirit” (http://powertochange.com/experience/spiritual-growth/walkinspirit1) It is a great description by Dr Bill Bright about how we allow the Spirit of God to have control in our lives and live victorious over sin.
Heavenly Father I pray for Giving Up. Break the chains of guilt and accusation that hold him down and keep him trapped in a cycle of sin. Guard him from the lies that Satan would tell him. Reveal how living in step with Your Spirit will result in victory and freedom. amen.
GivingUp let me also invite you to talk with one of our online mentors. They will help you understand how a relationship with Jesus can transform your life today. Just fill out the Mentor Request Form at http://powertochange.com/experience/talk-to-a-mentor and one of our mentors will contact you by email.
Dear god.
I need you. I want to end my life. Im sick of myself.
I hate myself. I do nothing but hurt people in my life. I try so hard to do good god.
But i go back to bad. I hate myself god. Can you please help me.
I do have a strong prayer network. It is simply the devil whom I allow to put me in this mindset. God is stronger and I do have faith. Thank you. I would never put guilt on my sons. Thank you for reminding me of that. I am a better mother than that and that is selfish for me to think in that way. Once again I have been strengthend by my online prayer friends.
Hi Anita, I am so glad you have come to this article and spoke up about the struggle you are facing. Let me first remind you what Paul wrote, “For we are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus, to do the good works which He planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10) You my dear are not in such a desperate place as you thought because God has known from the beginning of time about this point in your life and He has planned good things to come from all this hurt and struggle. It is not up to you to make it all happen because it is Jesus who will provide all that you need to face these dark days. “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:12-13) These are the promises of God’s Word! I am not making this stuff up! And you know that when He makes a promise there is never any question that He will follow through.
Jesus was speaking directly to your situation when He said, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’… Your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:31-33) I know it is so easy to become overwhelmed with the day to day stresses of life especially when money is tight. But Jesus reminds us that God is completely aware of all of our needs and is pleased to supply those needs in His perfect way. Our job is to keep our eyes on Him so we can obey the directions that He gives us. He will lead us to those places where His supply and provision will come to us. He will give us the peace of mind so that we don’t get overwhelmed by the demands of life. He will lead us into those places where our testimony will have the greatest impact on people who need to know Him. So focus your attention on Him. When a bill comes due, ask Him how He wants you to take care of it. When your boys need college funds ask God how He will provide for that. It may be that He will lead them to a new job, or maybe a scholarship will come through or an opportunity for a student loan. God has the answer so you don’t have to figure it out, you just look to Him for His direction.
I am absolutely sure that God’s plan for your boys is not for you to take your own life. God has a much better way to pay for their education. Can you imagine the guilt your boys would have to deal with if you did that?! It would not be fair at to them to place that kind of a burden on them. You are far more valuable to them alive then you would be dead, no matter how large of an insurance policy you have.
God is the one who has given you life and in His perfect timing He will bring you home to heaven just as He promised you. There is no sin that is somehow bigger than the infinitely valuable sacrifice that Jesus made on your behalf. But let God accomplish His purpose for you. You can unreservedly trust His timing and His perfect provision for your life. He has His unswerving attention focused right on you and knows exactly where you are at and is at work to supply everything you need for today. So trust in Him and rest in His faithfulness.
Heavenly Father, I pray for Anita as she is getting drowned by the financial stresses in her life and is feeling like she cannot go on. Rescue her from that depression and help her to see the light of Your hope. Remind her of your perfect provision and plan for her. Bring people around her today who can come alongside and help her to stand firmly on Your promises. Let her feel Your presence in and around her right now and let that awareness lift her heart in praise and worship and thanksgiving to You. In the powerful name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Anita, do you have a church you are a part of? Is there somebody you know who you can call to ask to pray for you? You do not have to face this alone. You have brothers and sisters around the globe who will stand with you and help you look to God for His help in this situation.
I have sinned but have been forgiven through the grace of God and the blood of Jesus. I am a single mother and have raises my two sons to be wonderful people. I know they still need me and I want to be there when they have children and to help them through life. I am a full time nurse and have worked many different jobs to be near home when they needed mom right there. I have money problems , I don’t waste, spend on self and my family has helped me out over and over. How many times do you help a drowning person if they end up back in the same situation . My sons would have college funds with my death. I am conflicted but see death as the only option for my situation. Will I go to hell if I die of my own hands. I pray to die in someone else’s place . I am do tired of being worried about bills, food, . I know it is Satan. I pray always for others and my situation . Will I go to hell?
I understand what you are saying Jocelyne, the reality of Hell can seem like God has got a gun to your head and saying, “Love Me or else!” But can that kind of a threat really produce love? It may result in obedience but it could never really engender love. I could put on all the outer expressions of love but my heart will never truly love someone who exerts that kind of threat.
I don’t see Hell as a threat that God is using to try and get us to love Him, but He does warn us about the consequences of trying to make our own way in life. We were created to be in relationship with Him and if we choose to turn our back on Him we isolate ourselves from all the goodness that He provides. The Bible tells us that God is the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17) so if we decide we want no part of God we are rejecting all the good things in our life. In God’s love He has given us time to experience a small taste of what that ultimately means so that we would realize that following Him is the best. But if we continue on throughout our life here in rebellion against God He will ultimately allow us to have what we ask for: total separation from Him–that is what Hell is.
I can warn my children against the dangers of using crystal meth. I can tell them about how is will consume their life, destroy their body, eat away at their mind and ultimately kill them. I want to make sure that they understand fully the consequences of their decision and see all the ugliness of it so that they will choose a better way. You could say I am forcing them to choose a drug free life by scaring them with the consequences of drug addiction but it is out of my love for them that I want them to know the terrible end that path will lead them to.
God did not create Hell so that He could scare people into following Him. He created Hell because that is what some people want: they have no desire to have anything to do with God and He is not about to force anybody to want to love Him. So He created a place where they could live out their desire to be separated from God. He will warn us all of the consequences of that choice and describe how much more complete life is when we live out the purpose for which He created us. But ultimately He will allow people to make their own choice and the people who are in Hell have chosen to be there because God is someone they want nothing to do with. Somebody once suggested that there is a lock on the gates of Hell but it is not a lock on the outside that God has put on but it is a lock on the inside put there by the residents of Hell to keep God out.
I think that it is healthy to be aware of the consequences of rejecting God but don’t just stop there. You also want to explore the wonder of following God with your whole heart and discovering the amazing plan that He has for you. Get to know who God is and investigate the great joy of walking every moment of every day with Him. Search out what others have found in living their lives under the direction of the Good Shepherd and I guarantee that you will find that your love for Him will not be a forced one but it will be a spontaneous reaction of your heart to the God who has made you, who has always loved you, who has a perfect plan for you and who has paid the ultimate sacrifice to take the penalty of your sin on Himself and given you new life free from the fear of Hell and condemnation.
Does that make sense Jocelyne?
sometimes i feel like i am forced to love God because if i don’t i will end up in hell? By saying if we don’t follow him,isn’t like him telling we better follow him because if we don’t we got to hell.Isn’t that like forcing us?
Hi Philemon, I am glad that you have found this helpful. Did you notice the buttons that allow you to share this by email, Facebook and Twitter? That would be one way to share it with other people.
i want to pass on the message to as many of my friends as i can
Hi David, what has convinced you that Jesus never made the claim of being God but those words were put into His mouth by those who later wrote about Him? Have you been able to look at all the textual evidence that confirms the authenticity of the copies we have today? Have you considered the evidence that comes from sources hostile to Jesus (ie Jewish and Roman) which gives credence to the miraculous acts of Jesus? Why do you think eleven of the twelve disciples of Jesus were willing to be martyred for a lie that they had created? There are very few people who have given serious study to the words and life of Jesus and still questioned whether He claimed to be divine. There is just too strong of evidence to the reality that Jesus saw Himself as God.
Question #2 – Believers in Jesus all miss the fourth option: It is possible that Jesus made no such claim and this his biograpers made it for him.
Hi Paul, you can find books by Rick Warren and other resources that he has put together at http://rickwarren.org.
I get a book on 10 Spiritual Questions and Answers
Hi Cristina, This is a good place to ask your questions – and I’m guessing you have a lot of them right now. A baby is a big deal and it changes things. Normally I would say congratulations but I don’t think that is what you need to hear today. So I’ll stay this instead: God is with you. I know that this is not the timing you would have chosen. I wish I could tell you why this has happened now, I can’t do that. But I can tell you that God has not abandoned you or forgotten about you.
The is the beginning of a new part of your story. It’s complicated to be sure, but a baby is a good thing. Whether you’re going to raise this child or place him or her for adoption, this child already has a future, a hope and a purpose. Is there someone in your life that can support you as you walk through this? There are some big decisions ahead and you’re going to need a community around you. Are you in a church? They can be a great place to start.
If you would like to talk to someone privately we have online mentors available. You can use this form to request a mentor and you’ll get a response back by email, usually within a couple of days.
First things first, have you seen your doctor yet? As soon as possible get some medical attention so you can make sure you’re doing everything you need to do to keep yourself and the baby healthy. Second, yes God could have prevented this pregnancy if he chose, but you also need to recognize your own responsibility in what has happened. If you knew that you did not want to stay with this man, why did you choose to sleep with him?
My Mom always says, “No baby is ever a mistake” and she’s right. There may be pain and sadness here at the beginning and that’s normal. This was a surprise, maybe a shock, and there can be some grieving that goes along with realizing that things are different from what you expected. Give yourself the time and permission to feel those feelings. At the same time, start to make some plans. Pregnancy takes time you don’t have to decide everything right away but you do need to start thinking about the future.
A friend of mine recently wrote this on Facebook, “Being a young mom means we met a little early, but I get to love you longer. Some people said my life ended when I had a baby, but my life had just begun. You didn’t take away from my future, you gave me a new one!” I hope that there are wonderful days ahead of you, even if they’re hard to imagine right now.
If the person im with is not the one and i was about to leave him why did i end up pregnant???? Why would God give me a baby at a moment like this?? I was ready to move foward with out him
Thanks for sharing that with us Billy. May God fill your days with opportunities to share His light with others.
I wonder a lot but finally gave all I am to my Lord Jesus Christ.I am an old man, 80 years old. The best thing I ever did was to give my life to Jesus Christ.I am going to be with him soon.
Thank you
Billy
Hi Rationalist, I am curious to know about the extensive records you have found that were kept by the Romans. Do we have a list of all the people executed in Judea in the first century? If you ignore what Josephus wrote what other sources do most scholars refer to when they are looking for information about Judea in the first century?
“if there were ACTUAL historical evidence for the existence of Jesus, everyone in the world would be Christians” I wasn’t taking this literal I knew what you where saying I just wanted to clear it up so nobody said that sense there is historical evidence of him everyone who isn’t christian is just disobeying god or anything close to this ”If you are denying that Jesus of Nazareth existed, you are going against 99.9% of historical scholars,” don’t give out random numbers or information you made up and I seriously doubt it’s 99.9% ”So what you must actually mean is that a person named Jesus did exist” obviously he means the one in the bible “but the stories we read about him are no more credible than those of, as you mentioned, Hercules.” I’d have to agree with this “First, as noted above, Jesus was a real person, while Hercules was not.” this is like saying god doesn’t exist because I said so “”If we throw out the historical evidence for Jesus, we must also throw out our knowledge of every other person who lived at that time.” who else would that be? “I was an atheist most of my life” this says nothing unless you say your age and even after that it doesn’t say much to about evidence towards god or Jesus
I meant nothing of the sort. I meant that there was never such a person as Jesus. I don’t believe him to be a legend, I know him to be a myth.
I was a Christian for most of my life. I was absolutely convinced that everything in the bible literally happened as it was written. I absolutely trusted the authorship; the thought that the books of the bible could have been written anonymously and attributed to the people to whom they’re attributed never even crossed my mind. But then around the time I turned 19, I completely stopped thinking about religion. I realized this around the time I turned 20 and revisited my beliefs with a fresh perspective. I’m 23. Nothing I’ve encountered in the last three years has even come close to convincing me that I was mistaken. The more I learn, the more it reinforces my decision.
I’ve read Tacitus and Josepheus (I took a few World History and History of Religion classes in college). Tacitus was born in 56 C.E. Josepheus was born in 38 C.E. Neither of them were actually contemporaries of Jesus. There are no eyewitness accounts. And the Roman archives don’t so much as mention him. The Romans kept EXTENSIVE records. If there had been someone named Jesus who was tried and executed in Judea, the courts would’ve made a record of it.
It’s also a matter of fact, not opinion, that the Early Church forged historical documents and “Christianized” everything they translated (Beowulf is a famous example).
The thing is, I’m banging my head against a wall, here. You’re going to keep presenting opinions as facts and dismissing as opinions facts presented to you until you don’t anymore. I can cite fact after fact, but that doesn’t mean you’ll accept them as facts. I defended the bible quite vigorously, until I didn’t anymore.
Jesus doesn’t prove the bible so no not everyone would convert to Christianity
One other point, which is also mentioned in my ebook, is that the earliest documents in the New Testament are not likely Mark’s gospel, they are Paul’s letters, which date as early as 48AD. This is a mere 15 years after Jesus’ death, which is the equivalent of an ancient news flash. And there is data contained within the New Testament documents (via ancient creeds) which goes back to within 5 years of Jesus’ death. This is rather unprecedented. Check the ebook or this article by Dr Gary Habermas for more on these early creeds:
http://www.garyhabermas.com/articles/crj_recentperspectives/crj_recentperspectives.htm
Just a Rationalist,
If you are denying that Jesus of Nazareth existed, you are going against 99.9% of historical scholars, regardless of whether they are Christian or not. Bart Ehrman, who as you may know is probably today’s foremost biblical critic (of the technical, scholarly sense) is quite critical of the accuracy of the Bible, yet even he believes Jesus certainly existed and wrote a whole book to explain why anyone who believes otherwise is trying to stand on untenable intellectual ground.
So what you must actually mean is that a person named Jesus did exist, but the stories we read about him are no more credible than those of, as you mentioned, Hercules. You do make a good point that there is a fourth relevant “L” to add to Lewis’ trilemma: Legend. (Of course, Lewis was working with the common assumptions of his day and likely didn’t feel the need to address this since his readers would assume the general accuracy of the biblical texts.)
However, regarding this fourth “L”, I must differ with your conclusion. First, as noted above, Jesus was a real person, while Hercules was not. Next, we have better evidence for Jesus than for any other historical person from that time period. If we throw out the historical evidence for Jesus, we must also throw out our knowledge of every other person who lived at that time.
We have mentions of Jesus in Tacitus (a Roman historian) as well as Josephus (a Jewish historian, one debatable passage, and one that is not in debate) as well as other early non-Christian sources. Yet the best sources are the New Testament documents themselves, composed close to the time of the events by several independent authors. These documents show the hallmarks of eyewitness testimony and are demonstrably consistent when tested in the same way other ancient documents are tested.
Check out my free ebook if you’re seriously interested in this topic, where five historical tests are applied to the New Testament:
http://whyfaith.com/nt/
I was an atheist most of my life but became convinced that the New Testament documents are reliable witnesses to what actually happened … and it changed my life. I hope you will take some time to consider this possibility.