The Bible Says
Our pastor, Curt Daniel, writes a weekly column for
the local newspaper. It is entitled “The
Bible Says.” It began in January,
2000. Here are the ones he has written
to date:
Question: What is the greatest of all God’s commandments?
Answer: Jesus answered
this very question in Matthew 22:37, “You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, with all your soul, and with all your
mind.” It outweighs all other
commandments and is a summary of all that God requires of us.
We should love God above everything
and everyone else (Matthew
Unfortunately, we sinners are
“lovers of self, lovers of money, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God”
(2 Timothy 3:2,4).
We are guilty of breaking God’s greatest commandment. But God loved us and sent Christ to save
us. We can be forgiven by faith in
Him. We then show our gratitude by
loving Him (Luke
Question: What is the
most popular verse in the Bible?
Answer: Surveys show
that the most popular verse by far is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life.” It
sums up most of the Bible in a few words.
Martin Luther called it “the Gospel in a nutshell.”
It is so profound that the greatest
theologians in history have pondered its many deep implications. Yet it is so simple that little children
learn it in Sunday School.
It tells us that there is a God and
that He loves us. He sent Jesus Christ
to become a man and live a perfect life.
Chrsit then suffered and died for our
sins. He also rose from the dead and
returned to Heaven – mission accomplished.
Though we all deserve to go to Hell,
God says we can go to Heaven by faith in Christ. God will forgive all our sins and make us His
children. For centuries, people around
the world have believed John 3:16.
Millions have taken great comfort in it as they died. Truly it is a wonderful verse.
Question: Is Jesus God?
Answer: Yes. There are over a hundred
places in the Bible that show that Jesus is God. First, Jesus Himself said He was God by
saying He is the great “I AM” (John
Next Jesus has all the unique
qualities of deity. He is omnipotent
(Revelation 1:8), omniscient (John
Nor was Jesus merely a perfect
man. He is God “manifested in the flesh”
(I Timothy
Question: Do guardian
angels exist?
Answer: Yes, but not
in the way some people think. The Bible
says, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers
them” (Psalm 34:7). Angels help
Christians in many unseen ways (Hebrews
The Bible does not say there is a
specific angel assigned to each Christian.
There may be several angels nearby at times (2 Kings
The Bible says a lot about
angels. Many popular ideas are wrongly
based on fairy tales, movies and urban legends.
As on many other subjects, it is best to rely on what “the Bible says.”
Question: Is Jesus
Christ the only way to God?
Answer: Yes. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the
life. No one comes to the Father except
through Me” (John 14:6). He said He is the only door (John 10:9). He alone grants the privilege of knowing God
(Matthew
According to the Bible, one cannot
know God by good works, philosophy, other religions, or anything else. Though these ways may seem right to us, they
only end in Hell (Proverbs
We need to remember that we are all
sinners and do not deserve a way back to God.
We deserve punishment, not grace.
God mercifully provided a way of salvation – but only one way. Rather than complaining that this is not
fair, we should thank God that we can be saved by faith in Christ.
Question: Can we know
when Jesus will come again?
Answer: No. Jesus said, “Of that day and hour, no one
knows, not even the angels of Heaven, but My Father only” (Matthew 24:36). “It is not for you to know the times or
seasons which the Father has put in His own authority” (Acts 1:7). Such secrets are known only to God
(Deuteronomy 29:29). Since God has not
revealed the date, it is futile and wrong to try to guess.
Many people – especially the cults –
have set dates for the Second Coming: 1843, 1914, 1975, 1988, 1994, 2000, and
many others. They have all been
wrong. We should ignore such
date-setting. The Bible is not a puzzle,
in which we can figure out the date if we piece the clues together right. Nobody will ever know. It may be soon, it may not be for hundreds of
years.
Jesus said, “Be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at
an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44).
Since we do not know when that time will be, we should be ready at all
times. If we have faith in Christ, we
will be ready. It will be too late to
get ready when He comes.
Question: Is Satan real or a myth?
Answer: Satan is very real – too real. He was created as a good angel named Lucifer.
But he rebelled against God and was cast out of Heaven (Luke
Jesus called him a “liar and the
father of lies” (John
Satan is evil, but not
all-powerful. Jesus defeated him at the
cross (Colossians
Question: Why did God create the universe?
Answer: The Bible says that God created the universe in order
to display His glory. “The heavens
declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1).
For example, the vast size of the universe points to God’s
infinity. A gorgeous sunset tells of
God’s beauty. The laws of Nature show
God’s wisdom. An earthquake reminds us
of God’s power. Romans 1:18-20 tells us
that the universe reflects God’s qualities in all sorts of ways.
God created humans as a special
means of displaying His glory. We were
created in His image (Genesis
We now see only sparkles of God’s
glory. But one day, it will shine forth
in full splendor. “The Lord has made all
things for Himself” (Proverbs 16:4), and He will display His glory to His
universe for all eternity. The Bible
says so.
Question: Does God love us?
Answer: Yes. We know
it in three main ways. First, God tells
us. “God is love” (1 John 4:8). “God so loved the world” (John
Second, God shows us by Christ. “God demonstrates His love for us, in that
while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God loved us when we were His enemies. The cross is the supreme display of God’s
love (1 John 4:9-10). If we ever doubt
the love of God, we need to look at Christ on the cross and say, “The Son of
God loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians
Third, God proves his love by offering
to freely forgive all our sins. He fills
our hearts with love when we believe in Christ (Romans 5:5). Then He will take us to Heaven and lavish His
love on us for all eternity (Ephesians 2:7).
Yes, God does indeed love us.
Question: Is the Bible infallible?
Answer: Yes. Jesus
said, “Thy Word is truth” and “The Scripture cannot be broken” (John
Some parts of the Bible are hard to
understand, as 2 Peter
The Holy Spirit inspired Holy
Scripture and proves its truth. “The
Spirit is the witness because the Spirit is the truth” (1 John 5:6). Historically, most Protestant and Catholic
churches have believed in the infallibility of Scripture, though some no longer
do. Attacks on the Bible come and go,
but it is as true today as when it was first written. We can rely totally on whatever the Bible
says.
Question: How do we know God exists?
Answer: We know because God says so. First, He tells us through Creation that He
is our Creator. “The heavens declare the
glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). Romans
1:18-21 says that God has revealed His invisible existence through the visible
thing he has created. Second, God tells
us in our consciences that He is real (Romans
We do not need to prove to people
that God exists, for they already know it.
Everything around and inside us reminds us. Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool has said in his
heart, ‘There is no God.’” In this
sense, there is no such thing s as an atheist or agnostic. There are only those who foolishly deny what
they know is true.
Though we all know that God exists,
we do not know Him personally except through Jesus Christ (Matthew
Question: Will we see God in Heaven?
Answer: Yes. “Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). “They shall see his face” (Revelation
22:4). “We shall see Him as He is” (1
John 3:2). Theologians call this the
Beatific Vision – the joyful and blessed privilege of seeing God Himself. Though all Nature points to God, God Himself
is presently invisible to us (Romans
All those in Heaven see God in His
glory and splendor. When we are raised
up in new bodies, we will see God with our very own eyes (Job
Question: What does “born again” mean?
Answer:
Jesus said, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the
The new birth is a miracle that God performs
in the heart. We do not do it for
ourselves by good deeds or self-reformation, any more than we gave ourselves
physical birth (John
Not everyone has had this
life-changing experience. A person can
know for sure if he has been born again. The book of 1 John tells us about
it. Those who have been truly born again
know it is real and wonderful. They
would not trade it for anything.
Question: Who killed Jesus?
Answer: The Bible says many people were involved in the
crucifixion. First, Satan is a murderer
and the instigator of all murders (John
This does not at all mean that all
Jews today are to be blamed, as they often were in the past. In a way, we are all guilty of killing Jesus,
for “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3). Hebrews 6:6 and
There’s more. Jesus said, “No man takes my life from me,
but I lay it down of myself” (John
Question: Did Jesus rise physically from the dead?
Answer: Yes. Some
people mistakenly think that Jesus rose only as a kind of ghost without a physical
body. But Jesus said to His disciples,
“Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I
have” (Luke 24:39). He then ate a piece
of fish to prove it. Ghosts don’t eat
fish.
His body was as physical as it was
before he died. He arose as more than a
ghost, myth or nice memory. If He did
not rise, He failed in everything. But
He conquered death. True faith believes
in the physical resurrection of Christ.
If one rejects it, he is still lost in his sins. (1 Corinthians 15 is the classic chapter on
this subject.)
Christ’s body was also
glorified. It was not less than
physical, but physical with new qualities.
For example, He could walk through walls and even disappear (Luke 24,
John 20). He later went back to Heaven
in this glorious body. One day, He will
return and give perfect resurrection bodies to all those who belong to Him (1
Corinthians
Question: How can I get rid of a guilty conscience?
Answer: God gave us a conscience as a kind of alarm clock to
tell us that we have sinned (Romans
There is only one cure for a guilty
conscience: God’s forgiveness. It works
like this. We are all guilty of
sin. God sent Christ to die for our sins
(Romans 5:8). When we repent of sin and
trust in Christ, God forgives us all our sins.
Then he cleanses our consciences.
“How much more shall the blood of Christ cleanse your conscience”
(Hebrews
We should not ignore a guilty
conscience, nor let it lead us to despair.
We should turn to God, who alone can forgive us. One of the greatest blessings of being a
Christian is having a clear conscience.
The Holy Spirit even tells us in our heart that we are God’s children
(Romans
Question: Are there any myths in the Bible?
Answer: No. The Bible
itself warns us not to believe myths (1 Timothy 1:4, 4:7, Titus
Scripture records many of Christ’s
parables, such as the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son (Luke 10 and
15). But a parable is not a myth. It is only a simple illustration drawn from
life. The four Gospels do not contain
myths. Also, the Bible records the lies
of Satan, but that doesn’t mean the Bible is a lie. God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). Therefore God’s Word has no myths.
We do not need to sort out myths
from truth in Scripture, for it is all truth.
We need to believe the Bible and listen to what God tells us. That’s what the Bible says.
Question: What is the Trinity?
Answer: “Trinity” is a word we use to describe the Bible’s
teaching that the one true God exists as “the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). It is shown in
2 Corinthians
Second, God has three aspects or
persons. The Father is God (1 Corinthians
8:6). The Son is God (John
This is a very deep mystery. Sadly, many cults reject it. We should believe it and pray for more
understanding. We should bow in holy awe
and worship the one God in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Question: Why do bad things happen to good people?
Answer: This is a popular question, but it is the wrong
question. The real question should be,
“Why do good things happen to bad people?”
The Bible says, “No one is good but one, that is, God” (Mark
We need to look beyond the problems
and pain we experience in this sinful world. Sometimes God allows them to come
our way to draw us to Himself, or to test us, or to
help us sympathize with others. Remember
Job. Even so, we are now getting far
less than we deserve (Ezra
God is temporarily withholding our
punishment. He is giving us many good
things to show us He loves us (James
Question: What is the shortest verse in the Bible?
Answer: The shortest
verse is John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” Jesus
was standing at the grave of His friend Lazarus. He was deeply moved with grief (verse 33), as
we are at funerals. He comforted the family and then surprised everyone by raising
Lazarus from the dead.
Luke
Though He was God, Jesus was also
human and had human emotions. He
sympathizes with our pain, our loneliness and our grief (Hebrews
Question: What does the Bible say about philosophy?
Answer: The Bible says, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through
philosophy and empty deceit” (Colossians 2:8).
The word “philosophy” means “love of wisdom.” It refers to the wisdom of
man, not God. It reached its peak in
ancient
1 Corinthians 1 contrasts the
philosophy of Man with the wisdom of God.
Man cannot know God by philosophy, but only by the wisdom of God. God’s wisdom appears foolish to the
philosophers, but in reality it is philosophy that is foolish. The Biblical book of Ecclesiastes shows the
philosophy of Man only ends in despair and death. It leads away from God, not back to Him.
Philosophy is fundamentally wrong
because it does not start with the main principal of true wisdom: “The fear of
the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10). The apostles and prophets who wrote the Bible
were far wiser than Plato or Aristotle.
And the sum of all wisdom is found in Jesus Christ, who is called “the wisdom
of God” (1 Corinthians
Question: What is the “Rapture”?
Answer: The “Rapture” is a term that describes what happens
to Christians at the Second Coming of Christ.
It comes from the Latin word “rapio,” which
means “take away by force.” “The Lord Himself
will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with
the trumpet of God. And the dead in
Christ will rise first. Then we who are
alive and remain shall be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the
air” (1 Thessalonians
Jesus said, “I will come again and
receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John
14:3). At the Second Coming, “He will
send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together
His elect from the four winds” (Matthew 24:31).
1 Corinthians 15:51-52 says it will
happen “in the twinkling of an eye.”
Christ will suddenly take Christians out of the world without
dying. He will give them new and perfect
bodies like His own resurrection body (Philippians
Question: What will happen when we die?
Answer: The Bible says the spirit leaves the body at
death. “The body without the spirit is
dead” (James
The spirit is the invisible part of
us. The Bible calls it the soul, the
heart, the inner man. It is where we
think and love, where we sin and believe.
It does not cease to exist when it leaves the body, nor is it
unconscious. The Bible does not teach
“out-of-body experiences” as popularly reported. To leave the body is to die.
The spirit will one day be reunited
with the body to face God on Judgement Day
(Revelation
Question: What are demons?
Answer: Demons are evil angels. They were created as good angels, but
followed Satan in a rebellion against God.
They were then cast out of Heaven.
Some were thrown into Hell to await Judgement
Day (Jude 6). Others were allowed to
roam the Earth. In rare cases, they
inhabit people. The Bible calls this
demon-possession. Demons are at war with
good angels (Revelation 12:7).
The Bible is the only reliable
source of information on demons, not TV or rumors. Demons are real, not mythological. They have minds, but not bodies. They are not ghosts of dead people. The Bible says they have rank like soldiers
under their leader Satan (Ephesians
Jesus cast out many demons, for He
is stronger than they are. They tremble
before Him. Colossians
Question: Is the phrase “In God we trust” in the Bible?
Answer: These words first appeared on some coins in 1864 and
were authorized by Congress for all currency in 1908. The phrase is based on Psalm 56:11, “In God I
have put my trust.” It was meant to be a
public acknowledgement that
Unfortunately, the true meaning of
the phrase is now ignored or denied by many people. For many it should be, “In gold we
trust.” Our nation has forsaken God. It ignores the Bible and mocks God’s
laws. Though many individuals can say
“In God I trust,” as a nation we do not trust God any longer.
The Bible says, “Blessed is the
nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12).
God provides blessings for those who seek to follow Him. God made
Question: Can we become gods?
Answer:
No. Some Eastern religions mistakenly
teach that we can become gods or goddesses through good works and
reincarnation. Some even say that this
is how Jesus became a god. Oddly, some
cults teach that a person becomes a god when he becomes a Christian, or can
become one in the next life.
One of Satan’s lies to Adam and Eve
was, “You shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5).
Many people still believe that lie.
Satan himself tried to become a god and was thrown out of Heaven (Isaiah
There is only one true God, but many
false gods (I
Corinthians 8:5-6). Jesus was not a man who became a god,
but was the true God who became the God-Man (John 1:1,14). When we believe in Christ, we become children
of God by adoption (Galatians 4:5). We
do not become little gods, however.
Christians will be made perfect in Heaven one day, but they will always
remain human, not be made divine.
Question: What does the Bible say about drugs?
Answer: The Bible mentions drugs in Galatians
God condemns the use of drugs in
these ways. Just as He forbids
intoxication with liquor, so He forbids intoxication with drugs. “Do not get drunk with wine, which is
debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians
Of course, some drugs have a
legitimate medical use. Proverbs 31:6
permits the use of strong pain-killers.
But the non-medical use of drugs is morally wrong. Drugs have ruined millions of lives and
families. Drugs aren’t the answer –
Christ is.
Question: Is man basically good or evil?
Answer: Most people think that we are all basically
good. They admit that we have done some
bad things and that
some people are worse than others. But they feel that even the worst people are
still basically good and that some people are so good that they make it to
Heaven.
This is totally wrong. Jesus said, “You are evil” (Matthew
7:1). The Bible says, “There is none
righteous, no, not one” (Romans
God has provided a solution. Christ was the only good person. He was punished in our place (1 Peter
Question:
Did Jesus ever marry?
Answer: No. Every now and
then, someone propounds the odd theory that Jesus was married and had
children. Some say He married Mary
Magdalene. Some even say He had several
wives. Others think His children had
children, and so on, and that His bloodline was the true “Holy Grail.” One bizarre book even suggests that the
authors located a true descendant of Jesus in
All such theories are false. The truth is, Jesus
never married. The Bible nowhere even
hints at the idea of Jesus being married, let alone that He had children. Surely the Apostles and early Christians
would have mentioned it if it had happened.
Jesus stayed single to better serve God (see 1 Corinthians
In a spiritual sense, all true
Christians are the bride of Christ (Ephesians
Question: Will there be more people in Heaven or Hell?
Answer: Jesus answered this question in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter
by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to
destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is
the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Many go to Hell. Few go to Heaven.
Each of us is on one of these two
roads. Most people are on the road to
Hell, though they do not know it. They
usually think they will end up in Heaven.
Only a few have gotten off the road to Hell and are now on the road to
Heaven. Though their number is large in
itself (Revelation 7:9), it is far out-numbered by those who go to Hell.
It is absolutely essential that each
of us knows for sure which road we are on.
There will be no second chance.
There are only two destinies. The
Bible alone has the answer. Christ is
the only way to Heaven (John 14:6).
Otherwise, we go to Hell. Which
road are you on?
Question: What is a soul?
Answer: Our soul is the invisible part of us. It is the “inner man” (Ephesians
Humanistic philosophy denies that we
have a soul. It says that we are only
animals and that the idea of a soul is superstition. But God says otherwise. We are not animals at all, but humans. God created Adam by breathing life into his
body and making him a “living soul” (Genesis 2:7). He then gave Adam charge over the animals.
One day we will die. Our bodies will return to the dirt and our
souls will go to be judged by God (Ecclesiastes 12:7, 14). Jesus asked, “What does it profit a man if he
gains the whole world but lose his own soul?” (Mark
Question: Is it ever okay to tell a lie?
Answer: No, never. The
Bible says, “Putting away lying, let each of us speak truth with his neighbor”
(Ephesians
All lying is sin. It is common in politics and business, but it
is still wrong. That includes slander,
perjury, deception, gossip and hypocrisy.
Some people say there are times when lying is acceptable – for example,
lying to an armed burglar to save an innocent life. But the Bible does not allow for exceptions
to God’s clear command. In hard cases, a
person might remain silent, pray, change the subject, take the consequences, or
try to stop the danger.
The end does not justify the
means. God condemns the error that says,
“Let us do evil that good may come” (Romans 3:8). Truth is sacred because God is holy. It is always right to tell the truth, never
right to tell a lie.
Question: What does the Bible say is a husband’s main duty?
Answer: The main duty of a husband is this: “Husbands, love
your wives” (Ephesians
This kind of love is more than
romance or sex. It is the love of
sacrifice. A loving husband will put his
wife’s needs above his own. That’s real
love. He will exercise his God-given
authority as head of the family with gentle love, not brute force. 1 Peter 3:7 tells husbands to be
understanding to their wives. That means
patience and kindness. He will protect
and provide for her both physically and emotionally. A loving husband will not strike or demean
his wife. Instead, he will “nourish and
cherish” her (Ephesians
A husband should imitate Christ, who
loved the Church and died for her (Ephesians
Question: Does the Bible say that wives must submit to their
husbands?
Answer: Yes, three times.
Ephesians
God created the family and made the
rules. The family is to be a hierarchy
of loving authority, not contentious anarchy or tug-of-war. God says the husband is the head of the wife
(1 Corinthians 11:3) and has authority over her (1 Timothy
This way of looking at marriage is
not very popular anymore. But it is
God’s way and God’s way is best. A
wife’s primary duty is to submit to her husband. A husband’s primary duty is to love his wife
with a sacrificial love like Christ has for the Church (Ephesians
Question: Can we know if we are going to Heaven?
Answer: Yes. 1 John
The Bible gives us the answer. We cannot save ourselves from our sins. God sent His son Jesus Christ into the world
to save us. “Christ died for our sins
and rose again” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (Acts
We cannot earn Heaven by good deeds,
for we could never do enough of them to merit salvation. This is why many people are unsure. When we believe in Christ, we are freely
forgiven all our sins (Acts
Question: What is predestination?
Answer: Predestination means that God eternally planned
everything that happens in time. The
word “predestine” is used in Romans 8:29-30 and Ephesians 1:5, 11. Many other verses teach the same truth (such as
Ephesians
There is no such thing as chance or coincidence. God determined everything in advance down to
the smallest detail. We are still
responsible for our actions and will be called to account by God (Romans
This is a deep mystery that should
move us to a holy awe of God. The final
destiny of predestination is the glory of God.
“From Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be the
glory forever” (Roman
Question: Is sex evil?
Answer: No, not always.
God created sex. When God made
Adam and Eve, He told them to multiply.
They had sexual relations and produced children (Genesis 1:28,
4:1-2). God uses sex to reproduce the
human race. He blesses it in other
ways. Sex is a means of intimacy and
spiritual union between husband and wife.
It fulfills a God-created drive (1 Corinthians 7:1-9). God even tells married couples to enjoy it
(Proverbs
God made sex a wonderful thing. But it can only be truly good within the limits
God lays down. God allows sex only
within marriage. Outside marriage it is
adultery. “Thou shalt
not commit adultery” (Exodus
God provides forgiveness for those
who have broken His laws for sex. We
must repent of our sin, confess it to God and forsake it. When we believe in Christ, we are forgiven
all our sins, even these. Christ forgave
an adulterous woman and said, “Go and sin no more” (John 8:1-11).
Question: Can God make a rock too big for Him to lift?
Answer: This is a trick question often used by atheists. They argue like this: If God cannot make such
a rock, then He cannot do everything. And if He cannot lift it, then He cannot do
everything: Therefore, there is no God who can do everything. It sounds logical, but it has a fatal flaw.
The answer is simple. God cannot make a rock too big for Him to
lift. No such rock could exist. The idea is nonsense and therefore
impossible. This is not weakness in God,
but a perfection.
There are several things God cannot do.
“God cannot lie” (Titus 1:2). He
cannot approve of sin (Habakkuk
This trick question is like the one
that asks, “Have you stopped beating your wife?” The question itself is improper and
misleading. Unbelievers who ask about
the big rock are really mocking God.
Behind their foolish speculations is a heart of sin (Romans
Question: What is faith?
Answer: Faith is basically two things: belief and trust. To believe God is to agree that what He says
is true (John
Faith is also personal trust. A person truly has faith in Christ when he
commits his whole self to Him. “Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (Acts
Faith is very important. “He that does not believe shall be condemned”
(Mark
Question: Does the Bible advocate capital punishment?
Answer: Yes. The Bible
repeatedly advocates capital punishment, especially for murder. “The murderer shall surely be put to death”
(Numbers 35:16,17,18,30). “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall
his blood be shed” (Genesis 9:6). It is
upheld in both the Old Testament (Exodus
The Fifth Commandment is, “Thou shalt not murder” (Exodus
Most people favor the death
penalty. Studies show that is deters
crime. It certainly prevents the
executed murderer from killing again.
But the ultimate reason why it is just us very simple: God says so. We would be wise to obey God on this matter.
Question: What is the Golden Rule?
Answer: Jesus gave us the Golden Rule in Matthew 7:12,
“Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them.” Somehow it got re-phrased to the popular
version, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It was called the Golden Rule at least as far
back as 1674. It is a good principle to
practice in all situations. Even
children can understand it.
The Golden Rule challenges us to put
ourselves in another person’s place and treat him in the way we ourselves would
want to be treated. Thus, we should show
courtesy, patience and fairness to all people.
The Golden Rule can also be put in a negative form: "Do not do to others
what you do not want them to do to you.”
The world would be a much better place if we all followed this
rule. So would our families.
Some people mistakenly think they can
get to Heaven by keeping the Golden Rule.
No one has ever perfectly kept it, except Christ. First we must believe in Christ and be saved
from sin. Then and only then are we
really able to live the Golden Rule. And
we should.
Question: What is the Gospel?
Answer: The word
“Gospel” means good news. It is the
basic message of Christianity, the central theme of the Bible. It is the sum of what Christians believe, and
is sometimes called “the Faith” (Jude 3).
God used Matthew, Mark, Luke and John to write down the Gospel in
detail.
The
Apostle Paul summarized the Gospel in I Corinthians 15:3-4, “Christ died for
our sins and rose again according to the Scriptures.” Jesus Christ was a sinless man who was also
the Son of God. He took the penalty for
our sins and died so we could be forgiven.
He said, “Repent, and believe the Gospel” (Mark
There
is only one true Gospel, but many false gospels (Galatians 1:6-9). Avoid the false ones that contradict
the Bible. Believe the true Gospel. It is the key to happiness and salvation in
this life and eternal joy in Heaven.
Truly the Gospel is the best news in the world. It is “good tidings of great joy” (Luke
Question: Are there different kinds of angels?
Answer: Yes. The Bible mentions a variety of angels. Often they are described by military rank as
“the host of Heaven” (the army of Heaven).
Among these are “principalities and powers” (Colossians
Genesis
Angels
do not marry or reproduce (Mark
Question: Will there really be a Judgement
Day?
Answer: Yes,
indeed. Jesus called it “The Day of Judgement” (Matthew
God
has recorded all our sinful deeds, words, and even our thoughts. “God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus
Christ” (Romans
If
you die in your sins, you will have no hope on Judgement
Day. “He that does not believe shall be
damned” (Mark
Question: What is truth?
Answer: Philosophers
and poets have long asked this great question.
Even Pontius Pilate asked it with sarcasm (John
What
is truth? God.
God Himself is the ultimate Truth. He is
“the God of Truth” (Isaiah 65:6). Jesus
said, “I am the Truth” (John 14:6). “The
Spirit is Truth” (I John 5:6). God is
the only absolute truth, and things are true only insofar as they rightly
relate to God. God alone determines what
is true. Two plus two equals four,
because God made it so. Murder is wrong,
because God says it is wrong.
We
know the truth of God from the Bible.
Jesus said, “Thy Word is Truth” (John
Question: Why did Jesus die?
Answer: Jesus died for
three main reasons. First, God
foreordained it (I Peter
Second,
Jesus had no sin, so He did not have to die as we do. He became our substitute. He suffered the penalty for our sins. The Bible calls this atonement and
propitiation. He bled and died on the
cross to pay for our sins. He died so
that we could be forgiven and go to Heaven.
Third,
Jesus died to display the great love of God.
“God demonstrates His love for us, in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “This
is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the
propitiation for our sins” (I John 4:10).
“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John
Question: Where can I find real love?
Answer: Everyone needs
love. Most people are searching for love
in all the wrong places. So they are
always disappointed. Their hearts are
empty and hungry. They need greater love
than friends and family can provide.
Many are so desperate for love they will do almost anything for it. Tragically, some can’t take it any longer and
commit suicide.
There’s
good news for you: “God is love” (I John 4:8).
He created us to have a loving relationship with Him. Sin broke it, and so we are empty without
God’s love. But God still offers love to us through Christ. “God demonstrates His love for us, in that
while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). When we trust in Christ,
“the love of God is poured out in our hearts” (Romans 5:5). “The love of Christ surpasses all
comprehension” (Ephesians
God
provides a feast of love, mercy, kindness and grace for us through Christ
(Ephesians 2). Believers will spend all
eternity loving God and being loved by God.
There is no love in Hell. Come to
Christ in repentance and faith. Receive
salvation and more love than you can imagine.
It’s free. And it really
satisfies.
Question: Is it true that God is all and all is God?
Answer: No. This is what is known as pantheism. It is taught by Buddhism, the New Age
Movement and certain philosophies and cults.
It says we are all part of God.
Sometimes it takes the form, “There is a spark of deity within each one
of us” or “The cosmos is all that is or ever has been.” It says there is no God outside the universe,
for the universe itself is God.
But
this is not what God says. God created
the universe out of nothing, not out of Himself (Genesis 1:1, Hebrews
11:3). God is everywhere, but is not
everything. He is infinite and eternal;
the universe is finite and temporal. We
are not made of the same stuff as God, nor are we extensions of His being. There is a fundamental and essential
difference between God and the universe.
Pantheism
is Nature-worship idolatry. It
“worshipped and served the Creation rather than the Creator” (Romans
Question: Could Jesus sin?
Answer: No. We need to know three facts about Jesus. First, Jesus was tempted by Satan. In Matthew 4 and Luke 4, the Devil tried to
lure Jesus into sin. “He was in all
points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews
Second,
Jesus did not sin. He resisted all
Satan’s temptations from the least to the greatest. “He committed no sin” (I Peter
Third,
Jesus was “God manifested in the flesh” (I Timothy
Question: Are there any “lost books” of the Bible?
Answer: No. Every now and then we hear rumors of
so-called “lost books” that belong in the Bible. Pseudo-scholars have even compiled some of
them into volumes that cause confusion and doubt. These "lost books” are often just the
writings of early Christians or Jews who did not claim to be writing
Scripture. Others are ancient forgeries
by religious frauds pretending to be Enoch or other prophets.
Then
there are the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Apocrypha, and other ancient Jewish
books. They are not inspired and usually
contradict the Bible in many areas. The
Bible mentions a number of non-inspired books that we no longer have, such as
the Book of Jasher (Joshua 10:13). Lastly, the Apostles themselves wrote books
that we longer have, such as the Letter to the Laodecians
(Colossians
God
gave us the complete Bible with sixty-six books. None have been lost. God has miraculously preserved all the true Bible down through the ages. Jesus said, “Heaven and Earth will pass away,
but My words will never pass away” (Matthew
24:35). Ignore the so-called “lost
books.” Read the real Bible itself.
Question: What does the Bible say about abortion?
Answer: The Bible
teaches that a human life begins at the moment of conception (Psalm 51:5,
139:13-16, Job 10:8-10). This is seen
clearly with Jesus in the womb of Mary (Luke 1). The Bible calls it a baby both before and
after birth. God considers motherhood a
great blessing, not to be taken lightly.
Mothers should love and protect their babies. Our bodies belong to God, not ourselves (I
Corinthians
Exodus
21:22-24 says it is a major crime to harm a pregnant mother and her unborn
baby. If the baby dies, the assailant is
guilty of murder. Therefore, abortion is
murder. “Thou shalt
not murder” (Exodus
Yet
abortion is not unforgivable. God offers
total forgiveness to both the abortionist and the mother. “Christ died for our sins” (I Corinthians
15:3). “The blood of Jesus Christ
cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1:7).
If you are guilty, confess it to God.
Come in faith to Christ and be forgiven.
Question: What is the cure for loneliness?
Answer: Loneliness is more widespread than is generally
acknowledged. Millions live in the heavy
shadow of loneliness: widows, divorced persons, singles of all ages, soldiers,
prisoners, the homeless, many more. They
often drown their pain in tears or alcohol and cry, “I’m so lonely.” God hears those cries and sees those tears. “He cares for you” (I Peter 5:7).
God
provides various ways to handle loneliness.
First, family.
“He sets the solitary in families” (Psalm 68:6). Also, marriage. “It is not good that man should be alone,” so
God made Eve for Adam (Genesis
It
takes God Himself to cure the greatest loneliness: the lonely soul. We need God. We are spiritually lonely until
we know God. We come to know God by
faith in Jesus Christ. He becomes our
Father and best friend. Even the most
solitary person can be filled with God’s nearness. By God’s love, your solitude can be a golden
opportunity for deep fellowship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Question: What is repentance?
Answer: Repentance is not the same as penance. Some people think that we can make up for our sins by some good deed. That is not what the Bible says. We cannot earn God’s forgiveness (Ephesians 2:8-9). And yet, we must repent in order to receive forgiveness. Here’s how.
First,
repentance is a change of mind about sin.
When we repent, we see that sin is evil and we are guilty. Jesus said, “Repent, and believe the Gospel”
(Mark
Third,
repentance is when we turn from sin (Isaiah 55:7). “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but
whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). “Repent and turn from all your
transgressions” (Ezekiel
Question: Did Jesus claim to be God?
Answer: Yes, many
times. He said, “I am the Alpha and the
Omega, the Beginning and the End, who was and is and is to come, the Almighty”
(Revelation 1:8). “I and the Father are
one. He who has seen Me has seen the
Father” (John
In
Exodus 3:14, God called Himself “I AM.”
Jesus frequently used this name for Himself, especially in the Gospel of
John. “You shall die in your sins unless
you believe I AM. Before Abraham was, I
AM” (John
If
Jesus was not God, then He was either a liar or a lunatic. If He was only a good man, He would not have
made the stupendous claim to be God. The
truth is that Jesus is indeed just what He said He is: God.
Question: How did Jesus die?
Answer: The Bible
says, “They crucified Him” (Mark
Theologians
and doctors have long debated the exact physical cause of Christ’s death. Among the theories: heart failure, shock,
loss of blood, stroke, and asphyxiation.
Some scholars say there is not enough data to determine the exact cause.
The
Bible itself gives us the answer. Christ
died willingly in a unique way: “He gave up His spirit” (John
Question: Where is Christ’s body now?
Answer: In
Heaven. “Christ died for our sins, was
buried and rose again the third day” (I Corinthians 15:3-4). Forty days later, He went back to Heaven
(Acts 1). He took His body with Him
(Luke 24:51). For 2000 years, Christ has
been physically enthroned in Heaven.
Wild
rumors circulated long ago regarding the body of Jesus. The Jewish leaders spread the lie that the
Apostles stole the body (Matthew 28:11-15).
An ancient Jewish book called the Toledoth Jeshu said that the body was dug up, dragged through the
streets by a horse, and thrown into a ditch.
More recently, an ex-priest has said that Christ’s body was probably
eaten by wild dogs. Some people think
that Christ’s body is still buried somewhere in
The
truth is that Jesus rose physically from the dead and returned to Heaven in a
glorified physical body. One day, He
will visibly come back to Earth again in that same body. He will give perfect bodies to all those who
believe in Him.
Question: Does the Bible say, “God helps those who help
themselves”?
Answer: No. Many, if not most, people think that this
saying is in the Bible. But it is
not. Rather, it is an old English
proverb that has been traced back at least as far as 1698. Benjamin Franklin popularized it in his book
Poor Richard’s Almanac of 1757. Variations of it are found in many languages
and even in ancient Greek literature of the fifth century B.C.
As
nice as the proverb sounds, it actually contradicts the Bible. We cannot help ourselves. We cannot save ourselves from sin. Yet God mercifully helps us. He does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. To be true, the proverb should really be:
“God helps those who cannot help themselves.”
He is the help of the helpless, the hope of the hopeless. Romans 5:6 says,
“When we were still without strength, Christ died for the ungodly.”
The
proverb wrongly suggests that God helps and saves only those who first do their
part. Or that He only gives a little
assistance. Well, we are responsible to
do what we can and God does indeed help us.
But we need to know what the Bible says about how God helps us.
Question: How can a God of love send people to Hell?
Answer: Because God is
also holy and just. “Holy, holy, holy is
the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3). He is
too holy to look favorably on evil (Habakkuk
Yes,
God is loving.
He has patiently given us time to repent of our sins. But God is also absolutely holy. He will not compromise His holiness for
anyone. Being holy, God is angry with us
sinners. “God is angry with the wicked
every day” (Psalm
The
real question we should ask is, “How can a God of holiness allow sinners into
Heaven?” The answer: “Christ died for
us” (Romans 5:8). Believe in
Christ. Turn from sin. Get saved now. Or God will send you to Hell.
Question: Was Jesus an angel?
Answer: No. Some cults think Jesus was an angel who
became a man. But the Bible says
otherwise. Hebrews 1 explicitly says
Jesus is not an angel but the Son of God.
Angels are higher beings than humans, but Jesus is “better than the
angels” (Hebrews 1:4). He is the very
Son of God, infinitely greater than the angels.
Jesus
Christ created the angels (Colossians
Hebrews
2 says that Jesus became a man to save men, not an angel to save angels. No angel ever became a man. No angel could save us. It took the Son of God to pay the infinite
debt for our sins. “Christ died for our
sins and rose again” (I Corinthians 15:3-4).
Question: Are some sins worse than others?
Answer: Yes. Jesus said to Pontius Pilate, “The one who
delivered me to you [Judas] has the greater sin” (John
This
does not at all mean that any are “little sins.” None are small. Every sin is against an infinitely holy
God. Therefore, each sin deserves
eternal punishment. Some persons will be
punished more in Hell than others because they did worse sins (Luke
Jesus
said that religious hypocrisy is worse than even a heinous sin like homosexual
rape (Matthew
Question: Is the New Testament God of love the same as the Old
Testament God of wrath?
Answer: Yes. A popular but mistaken idea is that the God
of the Old Testament was an angry God without love. This is totally wrong. The Old Testament is filled with wonderful
descriptions of the love of God. It
repeatedly says, “His mercy endures forever” (26 times in Psalm 136
alone). It states over and over that God
is loving, good, kind, compassionate and merciful.
An
equally mistaken notion is that the New Testament portrays a God of love who is
never angry. This is far from the
truth. Jesus and the Apostles frequently
spoke of the wrath of God and warned us of Hell. For example, Jesus Himself said, “Fear Him
who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell” (Matthew
We
cannot pick and choose between these facts.
Both are true. God is both loving
and angry. “God is light . . . God is
love” (I John 1:5, 4:8). God never
changes (James
Question: Did Jesus have brothers and sisters?
Answer: Yes. Mark 6:3 says, “Is this not the carpenter,
the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas
and Simon? And are not his sisters here
with us?” They are also mentioned in
Matthew
Some
churches suggest that these were Christ’s cousins, not children of Joseph and
Mary. John the Baptist was a cousin
(Luke 1). Another explanation is that
they were children of Joseph by a previous marriage. Another view says they were adopted. These are all possible theories, but rather
unlikely.
The
natural explanation is that they were half-brothers and sisters. Jesus was conceived of the Virgin Mary by the
Holy Spirit, not by Joseph (Luke
Question: How can I get ready to die?
Answer: We will all
one day die. “It is appointed unto man
once to die, and after that the judgement” (Hebrews
Others
have died before you. Your turn will
come. You will not be able to stop
it. Your soul will leave your body and
go to face God (Ecclesiastes 12:7). It
will be too late to get ready after you die.
You are in this life for only a short time. You will live in the next life forever – in
Heaven or in Hell. Only a fool ignores
death. Get ready now. Tomorrow may be too late.
The
only way to be ready is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. “Christ died for our sins and rose again” (I
Corinthians 15:3-4). Repent of your
sins. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and you shall be saved” (Acts
Question: Why should I go to church?
Answer: That depends
on whether you are a Christian or not.
If you are a Christian, the answer is plain: God commands it. Hebrews
No
church is perfect, but every Christian should join and regularly attend one
that truly believes the Bible. Being
part of a church is good for our spiritual health. Failure to do so leaves us spiritually weak
and disobedient to God. Those who ignore
church usually do not want to submit to pastoral authority or church
accountability (Hebrews
Non-Christians
should attend a good Bible-believing church, too. They need to hear the Bible explained to them
so they may be saved (I Corinthians
Question: What did Jesus look like?
Answer: We do not have
an authentic picture or photograph.
Artists only use their imaginations or models. Some paintings have shown Jesus as handsome
or humble, while others are awful. The
Bible forbids us to make pictures of God (Exodus 20:4). Since Jesus is God, pictures of Jesus are
also forbidden.
The
Bible gives us few clues as to His appearance.
“He had no beauty that we should desire Him” (Isaiah 53:2). Jesus was Jewish, so He probably had a dark
complexion, neither black nor white. He
had a beard (Isaiah 50:6), but not long hair, since I Corinthians
Revelation
1:15-16 describes what Jesus looks like now: “His hair was white like wool and
His eyes like a flame of fire. And His
countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.” Unconverted sinners will be terrified when
they see Him (Revelation
Question: Does the Bible teach reincarnation?
Answer: Absolutely
not. Reincarnation is a false belief of
Hinduism, Buddhism and the New Age Movement.
It says we come back after death as another person or animal to pay for
our bad deeds. Eventually, it says, we
all become divine. The primitive
religion known as Animism teaches that deceased human souls inhabit trees,
rocks and animals that must be guarded and appeased. This is a variety of reincarnation known as
transmigration of souls.
But
it is not taught by the Bible. “It is
appointed unto men once to die, and after that the judgement”
(Hebrews
The
good news is that there is salvation in Jesus Christ. He gives believers the new spiritual
birth. One day, God will raise them from
the dead in perfect everlasting bodies.
Believe the solid truth about Christ, not the vain error of
reincarnation.
Question: Is the phrase “One Nation Under
God” in the Bible?
Answer: Not
exactly. The words “under God” were
officially added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954. Congress wanted our nation to take a public
stand for believing in God. It offended
the atheists and still does. It is like
the phrase “In God we trust” on our coins.
Such phrases are in many of our official national documents.
The
phrase is based on Psalm 22:13, “Blessed is that nation whose God is the
Lord.” The Pilgrims who came over on the
Mayflower wanted this to be one nation under God. The Founding Fathers who signed the
Declaration of Independence explicitly dedicated this country to the official
acknowledgement of God. Every nation
has its God, false god or no god.
God
holds nations accountable to Him. When
they follow Him, they receive His blessings.
But when they forsake Him as a nation, they face judgement. “The wicked shall be turned into Hell, and
all nations that forget God” (Psalm
Question: What is “Original Sin”?
Answer: Original Sin
is the sin nature that we are born with.
We inherit it from Adam and Eve through our parents. David said, “In sin did my mother conceive
me” (Psalm 51:5). Job said, “Who can
bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one” (Job 14:4).
All
of us were born with this wicked nature and guilt. “We were by nature children of wrath”
(Ephesians 2:3). Yes, even newborn
babies are sinful and guilty. “The intent
of man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Genesis
But
there’s hope. Jesus was born without
Original Sin (Luke
Question: Did anyone go to Heaven without dying?
Answer: Yes, two. First, there was Enoch. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for
God took him” (Genesis
For
centuries, some people have thought that others went to Heaven without
dying. Some think it happened to
Mary. Moslems say Mohammad. Some cults say their leaders. But Enoch and Elijah are the only ones that
the Bible says went to Heaven like this.
For the rest of us, “It is appointed unto men once to die, and after
that the judgement” (Hebrews
When
Christ returns to Earth, He will take Christians to Heaven without dying. “We who are alive and remain shall be caught
up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (I
Thessalonians
Question: Does the Bible permit women pastors?
Answer: No. The Bible is quite explicit. God ordains only men to the pastoral
ministry. In the Old Testament, only men
were to be priests (Exodus 28-29). All
of the Apostles were men. Men only are
to be pastors, elders and bishops (I Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:6-9). I Timothy 2:11-12 is conclusive: “Let a woman
learn in silence with all submission.
And I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man, but
to be in silence.”
Godly
women may serve the Church in many ways.
They may teach children and other women (Proverbs 1:8, Titus 2:4). They may gather for prayer (Acts
This
is unpopular with much of modern society.
But the ultimate standard of truth is not polls, fads or opinions. It is what the Bible says. God has settled the matter for us.
Question: What language was the Bible written in?
Answer: Most of the
Old Testament was written in Hebrew. The
letters and words are read from right to left, not left to right as in English.
Originally Hebrew had only
consonants. Later scribes added vowels.
By
the fifth century B.C., Hebrew was used almost exclusively by the priests,
scribes and rabbis. The average Jew
spoke Aramaic, a similar language in the Semitic family of languages. Thus, some of the Old Testament was written in
Aramaic, such as parts of Ezra and Daniel.
Hebrew later revived and is spoken in
The
New Testament was written in Greek. It
was not the classical Greek of the philosophers like Aristotle, but the common
Greek used by the average person. We
have over 5,000 ancient Greek manuscripts of the New Testament preserved today.
Jesus
and the Apostles spoke Aramaic. Some of
them knew Greek. Some may have known
Hebrew. The Apostle Paul had been a highly
educated rabbi and Roman citizen, so he knew all three and probably also Latin
(Acts
Question: How can I find peace?
Answer: You can have
peace – true peace – from God. Here’s
what the Bible says. We lack peace in
our hearts because we are sinners.
“There is no peace for the wicked” (Isaiah 48:22). We are at war with God. Therefore we are guilty, lonely, troubled. Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless until
they find their rest in Thee.” Nothing
else can bring true peace – not alcohol, fun, sex or wealth.
Christ
made it possible to restore the broken relationship with God. “He made peace through the blood of His
cross” (Colossians
God
then floods our hearts with His peace.
“The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you” (John
Question: Is sex outside marriage always wrong?
Answer: Yes. The Bible says, “Marriage is honorable among
all and the bed undefiled. But God will
judge fornicators and adulterers” (Hebrews 13:4). The world glorifies it as cool fun or
romance. God calls it fornication. It is related to adultery. “Thou shalt not
commit adultery” (Exodus
God
created sexual relations as holy within marriage. But we have cheapened it by mere lust. “Flee youthful lusts” (2 Timothy
God
offers free and total forgiveness to those who have committed this sin. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they
shall be white as snow” (Isaiah
Question: Why is there so much suffering in the world?
Answer: Because of
sin. It was not always like this. There was great peace and happiness when God
created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2). But they sinned. This opened the door to suffering and death
(Romans
All
suffering can be traced back to sin.
Sometimes it is because of our own sin.
Sometimes it is because we are in a sinful world. God allowed suffering to enter and He allows
it to continue. This does not disprove
His existence or mercy. God has His
reasons and will set all things right one day.
Suffering
should draw us to God. It reminds us
that we will one day die and face God.
If we die in our sins, we will suffer for our sin in Hell forever
(Revelation
Question: What happens to those who never hear the Gospel?
Answer: The Bible
tells us very clearly: they will go to Hell.
The book of Romans explains it like this. Chapters 1 and 2 say that God shows His existence
to all men through Nature and conscience.
“You are without excuse, whoever you are,” even if you have never heard
of the Ten Commandments (2:1,12). Chapter 3 says we are all guilty. We deserve Hell.
Romans 3 to 5 then says
that God has provided salvation through Jesus
Christ. “Christ died for us” (5:8). We can be saved only by faith in Christ. Chapter 10 says that no one can believe in Christ
unless he hears the Gospel. Unless he
hears and believes, he will go to Hell.
So, he is lost if he does not hear.
He is lost if he hears and does not believe.
Jesus
said, “No one comes to the Father except through Me”
(John 14:6). Other religions cannot take
us to Heaven, only to Hell. This is not
unfair. Remember, we are all guilty and
deserve Hell. God owes us nothing but
punishment. What about you? Have you heard the Gospel? Do you believe it? Read the book of Romans and find out for
yourself.
Question: What is the unforgivable sin?
Answer: The Bible says there is only one sin which is unforgivable. Jesus said, “Every sin and blasphemy will be
forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men”
(Matthew
People
have suggested that other grave sins are unforgivable: murder, adultery,
homosexuality, sacrilege, Satan-worship, suicide, etc. They are wrong. God offers to forgive all our sins. “He forgives all your iniquities” (Psalm
103:3). “The blood of Jesus Christ
cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1:7).
Note the wonderful word “ALL.”
To
receive this forgiveness, we must confess and turn from our sins (I John
1:9). We must trust in Christ. “Whoever believes in Him will receive
remission of sins” (Acts
Question: What does the Bible say about horoscopes?
Answer: The Bible strictly forbids horoscopes and astrology in
Isaiah 47:12-15. Divination, or
predicting the future by looking for signs in Nature, is condemned in
Deuteronomy 18:9-14. Astrology is also a
form of star-worship. God utterly
prohibits that in Deuteronomy 4:19, 17:3, 2 Kings 17:16, 23:5, Ezekiel 8:16,
Jeremiah 8:2,
Many
astrologers are frauds, but others take it seriously. Millions of people read their daily
horoscopes. But it is neither
harmless or innocent. God says it
is sin. It is occultic
and Satanic.
You cannot learn the future from astrology, and it is both futile and
wrong to try. God, not the stars,
determines our destiny.
God
created the stars for other reasons. For
one, they are useful for navigation at sea.
The science of astronomy is valid.
The main purpose of the stars is to move us to worship God. “The heavens show forth the glory of God”
(Psalm 19:1). We should worship the
Creator, not the Creation (Romans
Question: Was Jesus a wimp?
Answer: Absolutely not.
The Bible nowhere describes Jesus as a cowardly weakling that wouldn’t
hurt a fly. It never portrays Him as a
soft-spoken guru who never offended people or got violent. Those who have such ideas of Christ have
never read the Bible.
Jesus
was a real man. A
man’s man. A
man of integrity and authority.
He was a carpenter with muscle and sweat. He was thoroughly masculine, not phony
macho. He was no effeminate sissy. He boldly faced down lynch mobs that tried to
murder Him (Luke
On
two occasions Jesus physically threw the religious hypocrites out of the
Question: Are
all religions basically the same?
Answer: Some people say, “All religions are basically the
same. They all lead to God. Take your pick.” Wrong.
For one thing, the world’s religions greatly differ on basic
points. Some believe in one God (Judaism
and Islam), many gods (Hinduism), or that everything is God (Buddhism). They widely differ on ethics, salvation and
life after death. They cannot all be
right, for they contradict each other.
God
repeatedly warns against false religions in the strongest possible terms (Deuteronomy
13 and 18). He condemns them as idolatry
(Psalm 96:5). The Bible states that the
gods of other religions are really Satan’s demons in disguise (1Corinthians
In
one sense, they are all the same: they all lead to Hell (Matthew
Question: Is
life worth living?
Answer: Yes. Many
people feel empty inside. To them, life
is a bad joke. Or a
nightmare. They’ve tried all
sorts of things and they all end in despair.
They’re sad and angry, lonely and afraid. They cry out with tears, “What’s the use?
Nothing matters anymore.” They’re burned
out. They see no meaning in life. Some commit suicide.
A
man named Solomon felt that way a long time ago. He wrote a little book called Ecclesiastes,
which is in the Bible. Solomon tried
desperately to find meaning in life through wealth, sex, music, philosophy,
even hard work. Nothing helped. He cried, “All is vanity and a chasing after
the wind! I hate life.” He almost went insane. He even considered suicide.
Solomon
eventually realized that God created us so that we might know Him. Without God
in your life, life is meaningless.
“There is no peace for the wicked” (Isaiah 48:22). And we will one day die and give an account
to God. So Solomon turned back to God
and found the meaning of life. Jesus
Christ invites you to come to Him and have true peace, too. Then you will know that life is indeed worth
living.
Question: What
does the Bible say about homosexuality?
Answer: The Bible says, “You shall not lie with a male as
with a woman. It is an abomination”
(Leviticus
Romans
1:24-27 condemns both male homosexuality and female lesbianism as extreme
sins. All sex outside the husband and
wife is forbidden (Hebrews 13:4). Even
impure sexual thoughts and words are morally wrong (Matthew
God
offers total forgiveness to homosexuals.
Some of the early Christians were converted out of homosexuality (1
Corinthians 9:9-11). The Bible says,
“The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). You can be forgiven and set free and made a
new person by Jesus Christ.
Question: Were
Adam and Eve real people or a myth?
Answer: They were real people. They were the first two humans. Jesus considered them actual individuals
(Mark 10:6). So did the Apostle Paul (Romans
5, 1 Corinthians
Genesis
1 to 3 tells us that God created Adam first, then Eve. They were innocent and lived happily in the
Garden of Eden. But Eve disobeyed by
eating the forbidden fruit. Adam also
gave in to Satan’s temptation and sinned.
God sent them out of the Garden, but promised to send a Savior one day.
Adam and Eve later died. All mankind is
descended from them. We inherit their
sinful nature. We, too, need a Savior.
Jesus
was the promised Savior. Unlike Adam and
Eve, He never sinned. Instead, “Christ
died for our sins and rose again” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). He defeated Satan and provides salvation from
sin and Hell. If we believe in Christ,
we will live forever in the ultimate Garden of Eden, which is Heaven.
Question: Do
I have to submit to Jesus as Lord to be saved?
Answer: Yes, definitely.
There is a popular error that says you only have to accept Jesus as
Savior, not submit to Him as Lord. It's
so easy: no cost or self-denial required.
You do not have to turn from sin.
So it goes.
But
that’s not what the Bible says. Jesus
Christ demands total allegiance: “Follow Me!” (Mark
Many
people think they are Christians because they repeated a little prayer or
walked forward at an evangelistic meeting.
But they were never truly converted.
Read the Gospels and see what Christ really requires of us. Don’t play games with God.
Question: Should
we love ourselves?
Answer: Pop psychology says we need to love ourselves. It says that our greatest need is self-esteem
and self-worth. Too many people have an
“inferiority complex,” it says, and need more pride in themselves. Even some churches teach the gospel of
self-love.
But
that’s not what the Bible says. For
example, 2 Timothy 3:2-4 warns: “Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of
money . . . unloving . . . lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” God hates selfishness. Pride is always condemned in the Bible. Jesus summed up God’s Law in two (not three)
commandments: love God and love others (Matthew
By
contrast, Jesus calls for self-denial.
“Let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mark
Question: Did
Jesus say He is the only way to God?
Answer: Yes. He said,
“I am the way, the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me”
(John 14:6). There are no
exceptions. Jesus said He is the only
door to Heaven (John 10:7-9). Our
eternal destiny depends on our relation to Christ. In John 8:24, He stated: “You will die in
your sins unless you believe I AM.”
Peter (Acts
The
reason is obvious. Jesus is the only
person in history that is both God and man.
Mohammad, Buddha and other founders of religions were only men. Jesus said they were false prophets (John
10:8). By contrast, Jesus is the Son of
God. He said, “No one knows the Father
except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (Matthew
Some
people think this is unfair and undemocratic.
They feel that any and every way will take them to God (except possibly
Satanism). They forget that none of us
deserves a way back to God. We should be
humbly thankful that God has given us the way through Christ.
Question: Aren’t
all churches filled with hypocrites?
Answer: Most, but not all.
Most church-goers don’t really believe the Bible and they certainly
don’t live it. They are just “playing
church.” They pretend to be true
Christians, but are only “false brethren” (2 Corinthians
God
hates hypocrisy. Jesus opposed the
religious hypocrites in His day. Read
Matthew 23. He ripped their masks off
and exposed them for what they are. “Woe
to you hypocrites, blind fools” (Matthew
But
not everyone is like that. There are
still a few true Christians in some churches.
They’re the real thing. Don’t let
the hypocrites stop you from becoming a true Christian. Come to Christ. And if you are a religious hypocrite, God’s
Word to you is blunt: Repent or you will go to Hell.
Question: Is
Thanksgiving a holiday in the Bible?
Answer: Yes and no.
The Pilgrims first celebrated it in 1621. It was observed off and on after that by
several of the original colonies. George
Washington proclaimed
God
commanded the Jews to celebrate with thanksgiving the annual harvest with the
Feast of Tabernacles for a week (Deuteronomy
All
of us should be thankful to God. A
nation should publicly express its thanks to God for all His blessings. Ingratitude is a great sin (Romans
Question: What
do people do in Heaven?
Answer: Many things.
They reign with Christ over the universe (Revelation 22:5). They joyfully serve God without getting tired
or bored (Revelation
The
main thing that people do in Heaven is worship God (Revelation 4 and 5). God displays His glory in Heaven. “They shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). As they behold the radiant splendor of God,
they reflect it back to Him in worship and praise. They sing, they shout, they kneel, they
rejoice. They take their highest delight
in worshipping God, for this is why they were created and redeemed. And they will love God and be loved by God
forever and ever.
Those
who are now in Heaven are already doing all this. Those in Hell are not. God now invites us unworthy sinners to enter
His Heaven. We must personally trust in
Christ and repent of sin. Those who do
this will go to Heaven. Those who do not
will go to Hell. How about you?
Question: Is
God male or female?
Answer: In one sense, God is neither male nor female. “God is
not a human” (Numbers
On
the other hand, the Bible says there is a sense in which God is male. He is “our Father who art in Heaven.” The words He, Him and His are used of God. When God took on human nature, He did it through
Jesus Christ – a male. He is husband to
those who believe in Him (Isaiah 54:5).
God
is not female. He is not a she. He is not a mother or wife. God is not a goddess. There is an erroneous view that says that God
is female. This follows the pagan
worship of the Mother Goddess (Jeremiah 44:17-25, Acts
Question: Why
is Christmas sometimes spelled Xmas?
Answer: Some people mistakenly think the word “Xmas” is an
attempt to take Christ out of Christmas.
Well, much of our culture does just that, but that’s not what “Xmas”
means.
The
word “Christmas” originally meant “Christ’s
Some
Christians point out that the Bible does not use the word Christmas, nor
command us to celebrate it. They’re
right. Others reply that Romans 14:5-6
allows Christians to celebrate such a day if they wish. There’s truth in that, too. Sadly, many non-Christians are like Ebenezer
Scrooge. They hate Christmas because
they hate Christ (John
Question: Is
Santa Claus in the Bible?
Answer: No, of course not.
Santa Claus is an American form of the Dutch name Sinter Klaas, or Saint Nicholas.
In
Unfortunately,
many people think of God as a kind of Santa Claus: friendly, generous,
unthreatening, not too bright, but very kind-hearted. They are comfortable with this God and feel
warm inside. They smile and think they
are religious, especially at Christmas.
In reality, they don’t believe in God any more than they believe in
Santa Claus. Their “God” is a myth.
The
God of the Bible is not at all like that.
He is real. He is all-powerful
and all-wise (1 Timothy
Question: Who
were the wise men who came to
Answer: The wise men of Matthew 2 were known as Magi. We get the word “magician” from this
word. They were pagan priests who
practiced astrology according to the ancient religion known as
Zoroastrianism. History tells us they
belonged to the Medes, who united with the Persians. Ancient
The
Magi wore long robes, coned hats and curled slippers. They brought gold, frankincense and myrrh, so
they must have been wealthy. There were
at least three of them, possibly more.
They were not kings, nor do we know their names. They did not bring a little drummer boy. They may have had a large entourage with
them. They probably traveled by camel
for the long 1000-mile journey.
The
wise men probably learned the prophecy about the star in Numbers 23:17 from the
Jews in
Question: What
is eternity?
Answer: Eternity is two things. First, eternity is a different kind of time
than we know. Some theologians call it
the Eternal Now. It is infinite
time. In this sense, God alone is
eternal. He is the “Eternal God”
(Deuteronomy 33:27). “He inhabits
eternity” (Isaiah 57:15). God lives in
the past, present and future all at once (Revelation 1:8). “From everlasting to everlasting, you are
God” (Psalm 90:2).
In
another sense, eternity is endless time.
It goes on and on for millions of years without stopping. Each of us began our existence at a certain
point in time. But we will go on living
forever. After we die, we will face God
on Judgement Day (Hebrews
Those
who die in their sins “will be tormented day and night forever and ever”
(Revelation
2002
Question: Does God approve of war?
Answer: The Bible
says, “There is a time for war and a time for peace”
(Ecclesiastes 3:8). God commanded
Obviously
God forbids wars of aggression or terrorism.
But God does approve of the just war fought to defend a people. Romans 13 says God
has ordained the government to have the power of the sword (police and
army). A war of national defense
protects the innocent from the guilty (Proverbs 24:11). It is unpleasant but necessary. A just war must have just cause and be fought
in a just manner. The Bible, not
opinions, defines what is just with regard to war (for example, Deuteronomy
20).
The
Bible does not teach pacifism. One day,
God will abolish all war (Psalm 46:9).
Meanwhile, let us believe and obey what God says about this serious
subject.
Question: How should we worship God?
Answer: In the way God
tells us to. God does not leave it to
our own taste or imagination. We should
not pattern worship services after the world’s ideas. We should do only what God commands and not
go “beyond what is written” (I Corinthians 4:6). Unbiblical worship is idolatry.
The
Bible says, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in
spirit and truth” (John
A
Biblical worship service will include prayer, Bible-reading, preaching, hymns,
Communion, baptism, and an offering. Our
attitude should be praise, love, joy, humility, faith and reverence. You cannot improve on God’s way, can you?
Question: What does the Bible say
about sorcery?
Answer: Sorcery has been
sensationalized recently in the Harry Potter books and movies. Many people are now dabbling with it for fun,
while others are being led into it with all seriousness. Is it harmless? No.
God
condemns sorcery. It is forbidden by
name in Deuteronomy 18:10-12, Jeremiah 27:9, Isaiah 47: 9-12, Malachi 3:5, Acts
8:11, 13:6-11 and 19:19, Galatians 5:19-21, Revelation 18:23 and
elsewhere. It is related to witchcraft
and other occult black arts. The Greek
word for sorcery is “pharmakeia” – the use of illicit
drugs. It often involves sexual
perversion, too. Sorcery is basically a
form of Satanism, for it calls upon demonic spirits for magical powers to cast
spells. Satan cannot perform true
miracles, but he can deceive people and lure them into evil (2 Thessalonians
2:9-10, I Timothy
Revelation
21:8 and
Question: Does the Koran mention Jesus?
Answer: Yes, but it contradicts
the Bible. Mohammad and his followers
wrote the Koran in the 7th century A.D. Moslems greatly respect Jesus and the Bible,
but they say that Mohammad and the Koran are superior.
The
Koran says Jesus was a great prophet, but not God. The Bible, however, says Jesus was God (John
1:1,
Since
the Bible is the infallible Word of God, the Koran is in error. So was Mohammad. Allah is not the God of the Bible. Fortunately, some Moslems have read the Bible
and come to believe in the true Jesus Christ.
Have you?
Question: What does the Bible say
about infant baptism?
Answer: Nothing. It might come as a surprise to many people
that the Bible nowhere mentions the baptism of infants even once. In fact, the first historically recorded
instance occurred almost 200 years after Christ. The practice developed when some Christians
feared that their dying infants would go to Hell if they were not
baptized.
In
the New Testament, those who were baptized were already believers in Christ
(for example, Acts
A
sinner is saved from sin by faith in Christ, not by baptism (Acts
Question: What does “Sola Scriptura” mean?
Answer: It is a Latin
phrase for “Scripture alone.” It is a
good one, too. The Bible is the
infallible Word of God (John
No
preacher, priest or church is infallible.
Only God is infallible. Church
tradition and creeds are true only insofar as they agree with Holy Scripture
(Matthew 15:1-9). Anyone who contradicts
the Bible is in error (Matthew
We
must submit all our thoughts to God (Proverbs 3:5, 2 Corinthians 10:5). The Bible says, “Test all things” (I
Thessalonians
Question: What does “holy” mean?
Answer: It is one of
the most important words in the Bible and, indeed, of all human language. It means pure and separate from sin. The Bible is called “the Holy Scriptures”
(Romans 1:2). Heaven is holy, for there
is no sin there (Revelation
God
is holy. “Holy, holy,
holy, Lord God Almighty” (Revelation 4:8). The Father is called “Holy Father,” the Son
is the “Holy Child,” and the Spirit is the “Holy Spirit.” God is perfectly and infinitely holy,
absolutely pure without the slightest moral imperfection. “God is light and in Him is no darkness at
all” (I John 1:5). “You are of purer
eyes than to behold evil and cannot look on wickedness” (Habakkuk
God
says, “Be holy, for I am holy” (I Peter
Question: What is the baptism of the
Holy Spirit?
Answer: The Bible
mentions it in seven places. It is not
the same thing as water baptism (Luke
I
Corinthians
The
Bible never tells Christians to seek the baptism of the Spirit. They already have it. They are told to go on being controlled by
the Spirit (Ephesians
Question: Why do some people get away
with doing evil?
Answer: We are all angry
when we read about a criminal being released on a technicality. Or when we think about
criminals and terrorists who are never caught. It especially hurts when we are the
victims. We cry, “Is there no
justice?”
Yes,
there is justice – God’s justice. Nobody
ever gets away with their crimes or sins.
God has recorded everything. The
books will be opened on Judgement Day (Revelation
But what about you?
What about all
the sins you have committed against God?
Do you think you have gotten away with them because you have not been
caught yet? “Be sure, your sin will find
you out” (Numbers 32:23). “Unless you
repent, you will all likewise perish” ( Luke
13:3). Turn to Christ now while there is
still time.
Question: What is “the sovereignty of
God”?
Answer: It means God
is King over everything. “His kingdom rules
over all” (Psalm 103:19). “The Lord God
omnipotent reigns” and He is “Lord of Lords and King of Kings” (Revelation
19:6, 16). He did not become king; He is
“the eternal King” (I Timothy
God
is perfect and self-existent. He needs
nothing and nobody (Acts
God
is in control of history. We are
accountable to God. Even so, God
intervenes even in the hearts of men. It
is futile and sinful to rebel. God will
triumph in the end. Therefore, we should
praise and worship only God. The Lord is
God! That’s what he Bible says about the
sovereignty of God.
Question: What is a “saint”?
Answer: In the Bible,
a saint is simply another word for a Christian.
All believers are saints, not just a select few. For example, Romans 1:7 addresses the
Christians in
The
word means “holy one.” How does a person
become a saint? We are not holy by
nature, but evil (Romans
A
saint is not a semi-divine person who has made himself holy by sacrificial good
works. God is the one who make
holy. Are you a saint in the Biblical
sense?
Question: Why did Jesus shed His blood
on the cross?
Answer: The Bible
says, “Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). He had no sin, but took our punishment
in our place. Since Hell is a place of
suffering, “Christ also suffered for us” on the cross (I Peter
Hebrews
This
is symbolized in the Lord’s Supper. Jesus
said, “This is my blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the
remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28). When
we truly believe in Christ, His blood washes away our sins (I John 1:7). Even in Heaven, believers will eternally
praise God for the blood of Christ (Revelation 5:9). Do you believe in the blood of Jesus Christ?
Question: Does it really matter if
Jesus really rose from the dead?
Answer: It makes all
the difference in the world. It is no
small thing or optional detail of Christianity.
It is absolutely essential to the Gospel. Any so-called preacher who rejects the
historical, physical resurrection of Christ is preaching a false gospel and is
under God’s judgement (Galatians 1:9). It is fact, not myth.
I
Corinthians 15 is the key chapter on the subject. The resurrection is of primary importance
(verses 1-4). “If Christ is not risen,
then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty” (verse 14). If Christ is still dead, we are lost in our
sins (verse 17), there is no life after death (verses 18-19), God’s promise
failed, Jesus broke His word, and Satan won.
All that would be the case if Jesus did not really rise from the dead.
“But
now Christ is risen from the dead” (verse 20).
He is victorious over death. He
will raise His people from the dead, too, when He returns one day (verses
26-58). Mohammad, Buddha and other
religious leaders are all dead. Jesus
Christ is alive! He rose from the dead
and is King of Kings forever.
Hallelujah!
Question: What is the Millenium?
Answer: The word “millenium” is the Latin word for thousand years. In the Bible, the Millenium
is the thousand year period during which Jesus Christ will rule the world after
the Second Coming. It is described in
Revelation 20.
When
Christ returns, He will destroy all His enemies. He will throw Satan and the demons into
Hell. Christians will be raised from the
dead. “They lived and reigned with
Christ for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4).
There will be peace on Earth at last, a worldwide paradise like the
original Garden of Eden. No war, no
disease, no crime. Christ will be
acknowledged as King of Kings and Lord of Lords on Earth for a thousand years.
At
the end of the Millenium, Satan will be let loose
again for a short time to lead a rebellion against Christ. It will end in his swift defeat (Revelation
20:7-10). Unbelievers will then be
raised from the dead. All mankind will then appear at the Last Judgement. We must
get ready now. Christ may or may not
return in our lifetime, but “we must all appear before the judgement
seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians
Question: Where did the different
races come from?
Answer: The Bible says
that everyone is descended from Adam and Eve (Genesis 1 and 2). As such, we are all related to each
other. “He has made from one blood every
nation of men to dwell on all the face of the Earth” (Acts
About
1000 years after Adam, God flooded the whole world (Genesis 6 to 8). Only Noah and his family were spared (I Peter
Jesus
told His followers, “Go and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew
28:19). For 2000 years, people from many
nations and races have believed in Jesus.
There will be believers in Heaven “out of every tribe and tongue and
people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). We
are saved by grace, not race. This is
the true family of God.
Question: Is there a second chance to be saved after death?
Answer: No. The Bible nowhere teaches that idea. It does not support the strange view of some movies, that God may send us back to Earth for temporary
probation to see if we prove ourselves worthy of Heaven. Nor does it teach reincarnation. Nor do angels, preachers or God Himself
preach the Gospel to dead people who never heard of Christ when they were
alive. These are all sheer fabrications
by those who either do not know or do not believe the Bible.
The
Bible says, “It is appointed unto man once to die, and after that the judgement” (Hebrews
Remember,
God owes us nothing. He does not even
have to give us a first chance to be saved, but He does. Our only hope is faith in Christ now.
Question: What is a
miracle?
Answer: People use the
word “miracle” too loosely these days.
If an underdog teams wins a game or if someone wins the lottery, it is
called a miracle. Those are not
miracles, just unlikely events. And, of
course, the “miracles” performed by magicians and faith-healers are just
tricks.
A
miracle is a special act of God that is above the laws of Nature. It is supernatural, not natural, and
therefore has no natural cause or explanation.
Skeptics scoff at the idea. But
since God exists, miracles are possible.
The God who created the universe of out nothing can surely interrupt the
course of Nature whenever He wishes. The
Bible records many of His miracles.
Jesus proved He was the Messiah by working hundreds of miracles and
instantaneous healings (Acts
The
greatest miracles have to do with Jesus Christ.
He was miraculously born of a virgin (Luke 1), miraculously atoned for
our sins in His death (John 19), and miraculously rose from the dead (I
Corinthians 15). The Holy Spirit works
the miracle of spiritual birth when God saves a lost sinner and makes him a new
person (John 3). Has that happened to
you? Do you believe in miracles?
Question: Does it really
matter what you believe so long as you are sincere?
Answer: It most
definitely DOES matter. It is very
popular to think that sincerity is all that matters: "There are no absolutes, you make your own truth, etc.” That’s utter nonsense. By that standard, Hitler and Osama Bin Laden were right, for they sincerely believed
their views were correct. A person can
be sincerely wrong. One plus one does
not equal five, no matter how “sincere” you are.
The
Bible says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of it is the
way of death” (Proverbs
The
Bible alone gives the answer. God does
not say, “Choose your own way.” He says
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts
Question: Is alcoholism a
disease or a sin?
Answer: Both. It is dangerous to deny either. Alcoholism is certainly a disease of
sorts. When a person drinks to excess
for a long time, he becomes addicted to alcohol as a drug. If he tries to stop, his body reacts with
withdrawal symptoms and an intense craving for alcohol. Many alcoholics deny they are hooked. They need to get good sound medical treatment
to overcome their addiction.
But
it is also a sin, and in that respect is different from most diseases and
afflictions. The Bible calls the
alcoholic what he is: a drunk. The Bible
condemns intoxication: “Do not be drunk with wine, which leads to debauchery”
(Ephesians
But
there’s hope. If the drunk repents of
sin and turns in faith to Christ, God will forgive him. God can totally transform him into a new
person. Be sober. Do the right thing. Come to Christ.
Question: How good do I
have to be to go to Heaven?
Answer: The answer may
surprise you. It is not what most think. Many people
think they will go to Heaven if they have more good deeds than sins. Others feel they have very few good deeds,
but God will somehow make up the difference.
Still others are proud of their good lives and think God must accept
them. None of these are right.
The
Bible says: “You shall be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect”
(Matthew
God
provides the answer. Christ is perfectly
holy. He took our punishment at the
cross. If we truly
believe in Him, God will forgive all our sins and put Christ’s perfect holiness
on our record (Romans
Question: Does the Bible
teach Evolution?
Answer: No. The Bible teaches Creation by God, not
Evolution by chance. “In the beginning
God created the heavens and the Earth” (Genesis 1:1). Some think God used Evolution, but all forms
of Evolution contradict the Bible. Since
the Bible is the infallible Word of God, Evolution is not true. The two are irreconcilable.
Consider
the Biblical facts of Genesis 1. God
created everything out of nothing by speaking it into existence. There was no “Big Bang.” There is no such thing as chance. God created the cosmos in only six days about
6,000 years ago, not over billions of years.
God created Man as a being distinct from the animals, who
were created in separate species without change from one species to
another. Adam and Eve were specific
individuals, from whom all humanity has descended. There are no missing links. We did not come from monkeys. Man is not an animal.
The
theory of Evolution is really just a form of atheism. It is self-contradictory, too. True wisdom believes that God is our Creator
and that the Bible gives us the truth about how He created the universe. Do you believe?
Question: What is the
meaning of life?
Answer: Someone said
that the three great questions are, “Who am I?
Where did I come from? Where am I
going?” Some say there is no
answer. They say we are meaningless
beings on an insignificant planet in one of billions of galaxies, all here by
sheer chance. The Bible says that if
that were true, then we should eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die (I
Corinthians
But
there is meaning in life. God created
the universe to display His glory (Romans
But
there’s Hope. God still loves us. Jesus said, “I have come so that they might
have life and have it abundantly” (John
Question: Who is the
“Antichrist”?
Answer: The word is
found in I John 2:18,
I
John
Christ
will throw the Antichrist and the Devil into Hell forever after He returns
(Revelation
Question: How many
languages has the Bible been translated into?
Answer: The Old
Testament was written in Hebrew and some Aramaic. Before the time of Christ, it was translated
into Greek, and some parts into Samaritan and more Aramaic. The New Testament was written in Greek. By 600 A.D., it was translated into Latin, Syriac, Coptic (Egyptian), Gothic, Georgian, Armenian,
Ethiopic and Arabic.
Small
parts of the Bible were translated into English in the Middle
Ages. John Wycliffe and his helpers did
the first complete English translation around 1380. The King James Version was published in
The
complete Bible has been translated into 383 different languages around the
world. The New Testament alone has been
translated into another 987 languages.
891 further languages have only small portions, such as one of the
Gospels. Thus, 2,261 languages have at
least some part of the Bible. This
accounts for 32% of the world’s 7,148 languages and 91% of the world’s
population. Missionaries hope to have
the whole Bible available in every language one day. “All Scripture is inspired by God” (2 Timothy
Question: What is a
“false prophet”?
Answer: Jesus said,
“Beware of false prophets” and called them wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew
A
false prophet may take several forms. He
may make up messages that he claims came from God (Jeremiah
The
main thing is this: the false prophet distorts God’s Word (2 Peter
Question: Does the Bible
say, “Spare the rod and spoil the child”?
Answer: Not in those
exact words. It is an old English proverb
that has been traced back at least to the year 1000 A.D. Many people mistakenly think it is in the
Bible, together with other old sayings.
We need to read the Bible for ourselves to learn what is and is not in
it.
This
saying is evidently based on a proverb that is indeed in the Bible: “He who
spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly”
(Proverbs
Parents
must raise their children according to the Bible (Ephesians 6:3). This means they must use love and
wisdom. Of course, some parents use too
much violence, which is certainly wrong.
Others are too lax, which will spoil the child and encourage wrong
behavior. God’s way is wisest and best.
Question: Is Jesus Christ
a man or God?
Answer: Both. First, the Bible says that Jesus was “a man”
(Acts
The
Bible also says Jesus is “God” (John 1:1,
Jesus
is both God and man. He was not a man
who became a god, as some cults teach.
He was the eternal God who became the God-Man. Jesus is “God manifested in the flesh” (I
Timothy
Question: What is the
“Book of Life”?
Answer: The Bible
describes the Book of Life in several places.
It is God’s list of all persons who are in a right relationship with
God. Philippians 4:3 mentions those
“whose names are in the Book of Life.”
Jesus said, “Rejoice that your names are recorded in Heaven” (Luke
The
book of Revelation especially describes it.
God wrote some people’s names in the Book of Life from eternity, but did
not write other names there (13:8, 17:8).
The names in that Book will never be erased (3:5). Revelation 20 says that we will appear before
God on Judgement Day.
God will open “the books” that have recorded all our sins (verse 12). Then God will open the Book of Life to show
if our names are written there. Verse 15
says, “Anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the
We
do not get our names in that Book by doing good deeds. It is God, not us, who writes names in
it. We get saved only by repenting of
sin and believing in Christ (Acts
Question: What is “John
Answer: Fans sometimes
hold signs saying “John 3:16” at football games and even wrestling
matches. It refers to a famous sentence
in the Gospel of John, chapter 3, verse 16.
It reads: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
It
tells us that God really does love us.
He loved us so much that He gave us the greatest gift of all – His
Son. God sent Jesus Christ into the
world to become a man. Jesus lived 33
years and never sinned. Then He died in
our place to take the punishment for sin.
Three days later, He rose from the dead.
If we truly trust Christ to save us, God will forgive all our sins. We will live forever in Heaven with God’s
love and not go to Hell to be punished.
Surveys
show that John
Question: Is the story of
Noah’s ark and the Flood a myth?
Answer: It is
historical fact, not myth. The Bible is
the infallible Word of God. It contains
no myths. Indeed, it warns against myths
(Titus
Genesis chapters 6 to 8 records
it as follows.
About 3000 B.C., God was angry with mankind’s evil. He told Noah that He would flood the whole
world. Noah built a large boat (an ark)
and brought his family and a large number of animals on board. Everyone else was drowned as a judgement.
God
later warned of another worldwide flood, still to come. Jesus said, “As the days of Noah were, so
also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:37). At the Second Coming, God will destroy the
world with a flood of fire (2 Peter 3:3-12).
The only people who will be spared are those who truly believe in Jesus
Christ. Just as surely as the first
flood happened, so the next flood will surely happen. Are you ready?
Question: Does the Bible
allow divorce?
Answer: Various
churches differ on this question. Some
allow for no divorce at all, but permit annulment. Others allow divorce for one or two
grounds. Still others allow it for
almost any reason. What the Bible says
is what really matters.
The
Old Testament allowed for divorce in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 and elsewhere. God Himself divorced
I
Corinthians 7:10-16 says that a Christian may allow an unbeliever to divorce
him or her. That and adultery would thus
be the only two Biblical grounds for divorce.
The Bible says still more on the subject. Reconciliation through repentance and
forgiveness is always the ideal. The
vast majority of divorces today are unbiblical and therefore sinful. Those involved need to re-examine themselves
by the Bible and seek God’s forgiveness and healing.
Question: Does God know
everything?
Answer:
Absolutely. The Bible says, “His
understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:15).
God knows everything about everything and everybody. He knows everything past, present and
future. He even knows things that could
happen but never do happen (Matthew
There
is a dangerous error today called “the openness of God” that says God does not know the
future. That heresy is a direct insult
to God. The Bible says God predestined
everything that will ever happen (Ephesians
“The
Lord knows the thoughts of Man” (Psalm 94:11).
He knows our “secret sins” (Psalm 90:8).
God knows who is a true Christian and who is only pretending. He also knows our fears and our hurts, and He
cares. The omniscience of God is a great
comfort to His children, but a forboding threat to
His enemies.
Question: Is God the
Father of all mankind?
Answer: The Bible says
God created all mankind. In that sense,
He is our Father and we are His offspring (Acts
The
Bible emphasizes something else. Because
of sin, we are God’s enemies, not His children (Romans
But
there’s hope. When we truly believe in
Christ, we are adopted into God’s family (Galatians 4:5). We then have God, not Satan, as our true
Father. Other Christians are our
brothers and sisters. When we die, we go
to live in our loving heavenly Father’s home forever (John 14:2). Who is YOUR father?
Question: Are there any
errors in the Bible?
Answer: None whatsoever. The Bible is totally inerrant and absolutely
infallible. Jesus said, “Thy Word is
truth (John
“All
Scripture is inspired by God” (2 Timothy
It
is a serious matter to question the full truth of the Word of God. Scripture says, “He that does not believe God
has made Him a liar” (I John
Question: How can God
forgive my many sins?
Answer: Some people
feel guilty for their sins. Perhaps
their conscience is reminding them of one sin in particular. It may be something nobody else knows
about. It may be a sexual sin, stealing
something, or even a crime. They realize
they are guilty before God and deserve to go to Hell. Does this describe you?
The
Bible has good news for you. God knows
you are guilty, but still loves you. He
provided the answer: “Christ died for our sins and rose again” (I Corinthians
15:3-4). God can now legally and justly
forgive you (I John 1:9). You must
repent of your sins and trust Jesus Christ to save you. If you do, God will erase
all your sins and put Christ’s perfect holiness to your account (2 Corinthians
All your sins?
Yes, all. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses
us from all sin” (I John 1:7). “You will
cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah
Question: What are the
“Five Points of Calvinism”?
Answer: They are five
great truths taught in the Bible. They
were ignored for many centuries, but were rediscovered by John Calvin and
others in the sixteenth-century Reformation.
Augustine and Martin Luther more or less accepted them, too.
First,
Man is totally depraved. He is
completely controlled by sin and unable to obey God (Roman 8:7). Second, God lovingly chose some but not all
sinners to be saved (Ephesians 1:3-4).
“Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew
These
great truths show just how guilty and helpless we sinners really are. They also show how majestic, loving and
powerful God really is. Praise God for
these five wonderful truths.
Question: Will the Second
Coming be secret or open?
Answer: The Bible
says, “Behold, He is coming with clouds and every eye will see Him” (Revelation
1:7). Jesus warned of the secret coming
of false messiahs, and added, “For as the lightning comes from the East and
flashes to the West, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew
24:23-27). “Then they will see the Son
of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke
The
Second Coming has obviously not happened yet.
When it does, everyone will see and hear it. Are you ready?
Question: Is there any
cure for a broken heart?
Answer: Yes. Our hearts are sometimes broken by those we
love who no longer love us. Friends and
family wound us. Grief, loneliness and
depression can crush us. We try all
sorts of things to help, but nothing works.
The tears still flow. We need to
turn to God. He can help in a way that
others cannot. The Bible says, “He heals
the broken-hearted” (Psalm 147:3).
God
knows when we hurt. And He cares. “Cast all your burdens on Him, for He cares
for you” (I Peter 5:7). He cares because
He loves us. He counts every tear
(Isaiah 38:5). “The Lord is merciful and
full of compassion” (Psalm 145:8). Jesus
said, “I have compassion on the multitude” (Mark 8:2). We need to go to God and ask for His comfort
and love.
God
sometimes lets tragedy happen to us to break our hearts. That lets us know that we need Him. Then we become sorry that we have sinned
against the God who loves us so much.
This helps us to repent (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). When we truly repent, we receive His mercy
and forgiveness. May the Lord show you
His love and lead you to Himself through Christ.
Question: Where did God come
from?
Answer: God has always
existed. He was not created by anything
or anyone. Atheists say God is a myth
created by superstitious people who feared the forces of Nature. They say God is only the projected image of
man, a sort of make-believe “Big Man in the Sky.” Some cults say God was once a man who
developed into a deity, and so can we.
Not so.
The
Bible’s first words are, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the
Earth” (Genesis 1:1). He created
everything seen and unseen (Colossians
No
mere human can fully grasp this great truth.
“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’.” (Psalm 14:1). True wisdom believes in God because God says
He exists. “The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10).
Question: How can I
become a Christian?
Answer: Nobody is born
a Christian. God makes you one. The Bible tells us what a true Christian is
and how to become one. A Christian is a
person who has been saved from his sins and is a follower of Jesus Christ.
A
man once asked what he had to do to be saved.
Paul told him, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved”
(Acts
You
cannot become a Christian by the sacraments or by trying to keep the Ten
Commandments or the Golden Rule. It is
only by faith in Jesus Christ by God’s free mercy (Ephesians 2:8-9). Are you a true Christian?
Question: Will the world
end in a nuclear holocaust?
Answer: No. Ever since the atomic bomb was invented in
1945, people have worried that nuclear war will one day destroy the whole
world. This was especially feared during
the Cold War. Thousands of nuclear bombs
and missiles still exist around the world.
What if terrorists get hold of them?
Or if World War III broke out?
But
the Bible says the world will not end in a nuclear holocaust. It will end in another way, a way that is far
more devastating. It will end with the
Second Coming of Christ. He will come
from Heaven “in flaming fire” (2 Thessalonians 1:8). He will destroy all His enemies (Revelation
Then
God will re-create the universe. “I saw
a new Heaven and a new Earth, for the first Heaven and the first Earth had
passed away” (Revelation 21:1).
Believers will live there in eternal peace. Unbelievers will suffer in eternal Hell
fire. Where will you be?
Question: Does the Bible
say, “God is love”?
Answer: Yes. These three great words are found in I John
4:8 and 16. They describe the very essence
of God’s nature. “God is light” (I John
1:5) means God is holy. “God is love”
means God is loving.
Ultimately, God loves Himself most.
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have eternally loved one another
in perfect love.
God
wanted to share this love, so he created
If
we turn from sin and trust Jesus Christ, we will be saved from sin. We then personally know God’s love. “The love of God is poured out in our hearts”
(Romans 5:5). “We love Him because He
first loved us” (I John
Question: Where did Satan
come from?
Answer: God created
Satan as a good angel. Satan is not an
eternal second god, nor the brother of Jesus, as some cults teach.
Satan
was originally named Lucifer (Isaiah
Jesus
Christ defeated Satan when he died for our sins and rose from the dead (Hebrews
Question: Is money the
root of all evil?
Answer: No. The correct wording is, “The love of money is
a root of all kinds of evil” (I Timothy
When
we love money, it leads to many other sins.
It makes us love things instead of people. Greed leads to theft. A greedy person is stingy, not generous. Worst of all, this person worships gold
rather than God. “You cannot serve God
and money” (Matthew
Jesus
said that life is more than money. Money
cannot buy true happiness or love, nor a ticket to
Heaven. “Do not lay up for yourselves
treasures on Earth, but treasures in Heaven.
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew
Question: Should we have
entertainment in church services?
Answer: Absolutely
not. The Bible tells us how God wants to
be worshipped. He does not leave it to
our own imagination, for we are prone to idolatry. The Bible approves prayer, hymns, sermons,
Bible-reading, Communion, baptism, offerings and the like. We must worship God “in spirit and in truth”
(John
The
Bible nowhere approves of entertainment in church. It is a service, not a show. It should be characterized by holiness and
reverence, not flippancy and gimmicks.
The whole purpose is to please God, not Man (see Galatians
God
is holy. He is jealous for His
worship. He is not pleased with silly
nonsense. In fact, He is angry with it. In Leviticus 10:1-3, God sent fire to destroy
some people who broke God’s law of true worship. Let us repent of all unbiblical methods. Let us worship God in God’s way – by the
Bible alone.
Question: Does God always
want to heal us?
Answer: No. Some so-called “faith-healers” (especially on
TV) say God always wants to heal us. They
claim to have the gift of healing and tell dubious stories of their many
healings and miracles. If someone is not
healed, then he is blamed for not having enough faith. Many desperate people have been hurt and
cheated by this scheme.
The
Bible says God is certainly able to miraculously heal anyone. Jesus healed hundreds of people of all sorts
of illnesses, even death (Matthew
We
need to show mercy to those who are afflicted, not give false hope that will
only disappoint. The true hope is that
Christians will one day be totally healed when they are raised from the dead
(Corinthians
Question: Does baptism
wash away our sins?
Answer: No. There are two errors on this. The first says that God magically uses
baptism to wash away our sins and give us spiritual birth, whether as infants
or adults. The other says a person must
first believe and repent, but he is not truly saved and washed from sin until
he is baptized. Neither view is taught
in the Bible.
The
Bible says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (Acts
Baptism
is a solemn ceremony that symbolizes what has already happened to someone. The believer has already been saved, born
again and washed from sin. Has this
happened to you?
Question: Is there such a
thing as chance?
Answer: No. There is no such thing as chance, luck,
accidents or coincidences. These ideas
are found in philosophy and even some religions. It is essential to the theory of
Evolution. It says, “Things just
happen.” It is really a form of atheism.
The
Bible says that things do not happen by chance.
Instead, things happen because God predestined them. “Being predestined according to the purpose
of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians
God
holds us accountable to obey His commands.
From our perspective, things we do not expect may appear as chance (as
in Luke
Question: Was Jesus the
Messiah promised to the Jews?
Answer: Yes, He
was. God gave the Jews many specific
promises about the Messiah. Jesus
fulfilled them all and is the “Christ” (Messiah), as He Himself said (Luke
24:44-46).
God
said Messiah would be born in
Some
Jews believed in Jesus when they reasoned, “When the Messiah comes, will He do
more miracles than these which this man has done?” (John 7:31). Over the centuries, most Jews have found it
hard to believe Jesus was the Messiah, but there have always been some who
believed. One day, most Jews will
believe that Jesus is indeed their promised Messiah after all (Romans 11).
Question: Why was Jesus
born of a virgin?
Answer: The Virgin
Birth of Christ is an essential truth of Christianity. It is explicitly taught in Matthew 1, Luke 1
and elsewhere. It is not a myth, but a
unique historical fact with great spiritual significance. Here’s why.
Jesus
Christ was born of a virgin for two main reasons. First, to be sinless. We inherit sin from our fathers (Romans
The
rest of us are born sinful humans. We
need a divine Savior without sin. Jesus
became the sinless God-Man in order to suffer and die for our sins (Galatians
4:4-5). During this Christmas season,
let us thank God for the miraculous Virgin Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Question: What is the
true meaning of Christmas?
Answer: We often hear
that love of our fellow man and worldwide peace is the true meaning of
Christmas. Well, those are good things,
but Christmas is more than that. It is
more than giving gifts or visiting families.
And it is certainly more than decorating trees or getting drunk.
The
true meaning is far greater: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”
(I Timothy
The
angels told the shepherds that this is “good tidings of great joy” (Luke
Question: What is
infinity?
Answer: Infinity means
that which is without limit. Only God is
infinite. He is infinite in several
ways. He has infinite power, for He says
“I Am Almighty God” (Genesis 17:1).
“With God, nothing is impossible” (Luke
God
is infinite in time. “From everlasting
to everlasting, you are God” (Psalm 90:2).
He lives in the past, present and future all at once. He is “the eternal King” (I Timothy
God is also infinitely holy. “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God
Almighty, who was and is and is to come” (Revelation 4:8). He is infinite in love to His people. “I have loved you with an everlasting love”
(Jeremiah 31:3). Compared with God, we
are “less than nothing and worthless” (Isaiah 40:17). Let us bow in worship to our infinite
God. How great Thou art!
2003
Question: Is there life after
death?
Answer: Yes.
The Bible tells us about it. We
do not cease to exist when we die. Our
souls go on living. We do not come back
to Earth by reincarnation. Our bodies will
one day be raised from the dead and reunited with our souls. We will then live eternally in one of two
places.
The Bible says, “The wicked shall be thrown into
Hell” (Psalms
Are you going to Heaven or Hell? There is only one way to go to Heaven and
avoid Hell. “Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and you shall be saved” (Acts
Question: What is the secret of a
good marriage?
Answer: The secret is to do it God’s way. All marital problems can be solved by
following the Bible’s directions. And
all failures can be traced back to disobeying God’s Word on marriage. God’s way always works.
The key is for the husband and wife each doing
their main duty. “Wives, submit to your
husbands. Husbands, love your wives”
(Ephesians
When a marriage falls apart, both spouses must
repent. They need to confess to God that
they have not obeyed Him. Then they must
humbly apologize to each other for not doing what God has told them to do
(submit and love). Then they must
forgive each other. Build your marriage
on the Bible. Pray together. Dedicate yourselves to doing it God’s
way. May the Lord help you to do so.
Question: Can you explain the
Trinity for me?
Answer: The Trinity is a deep mystery that no one can
completely understand or explain. The
word Trinity means tri-unity, or three-in-one.
Though the word is not in the Bible, the truth of it is taught in
Matthew 28:19 and elsewhere.
First, there is only one God. “There is one God” (I Timothy 2:5). Second, within the one God are three
entities. The Father is God (I Corinthians
Some people deny that Jesus is God. Others admit that Jesus is God, but also say
Jesus is the Father. Both of these are
unbiblical errors. The Trinity is an
awesome mystery that humbles our little minds.
We should believe it because it is taught in the Bible. Let us worship the one God who is Father, Son
and Holy Spirit.
Question: What are the Ten
Commandments?
Answer: The Ten Commandments are God’s Law. They are a summary of all that God commands
us. They are listed in Exodus 20:3-17
and Deuteronomy 5:7-21. Here they are:
“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourselves a graven
image (statue or picture to worship).
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it
holy. Honor your father and your
mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your
neighbor. You shall not covet your
neighbor’s house, nor anything that is your
neighbor’s.”
God takes these commands seriously. He has not abolished them. We have all broken them. The penalty for disobedience is death and
Hell. We cannot save ourselves by trying
to keep the Ten Commandments. Jesus
Christ, God’s Son, is the only person to perfectly obey them. He also took our death and Hell at the cross
and rose from the dead. If we repent of
sin and personally trust in Christ, God will save us. Then we show our gratitude by obeying the Ten
Commandments.
Question: What did God create the
universe out of?
Answer: According to the Bible, God alone is
eternal. The universe is not. Some philosophers and scientists think the
universe has always existed and is still evolving. Others think it exploded into being in a Big
Bang. Both theories are wrong.
The Bible’s first words are, “In the beginning,
God created the heavens and the Earth” (Genesis 1:1). Before that, only God existed. Then God
created time, space and matter in the course of six days. He did not create it out of Himself, otherwise the universe would be part of God. The Creation is not the Creator (Romans
God simply spoke the universe into being (Psalm
33:6). For example, “God said, ‘Let
there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). Only God could do that. It was a magnificent miracle. Truly God is awesome and far greater than we
can imagine.
Question: Do I have to be “born
again” to go to Heaven?
Answer: Yes.
Jesus said, “Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the
The Bible says that we were all born “dead in sin”
(Ephesians 2:1). We deserve
punishment. We cannot save ourselves by
good deeds. Even being a preacher or
priest cannot save you. The Holy Spirit
alone can perform the miracle of the new birth.
It does not happen through baptism.
God does it through the Holy Scriptures (I Peter
When a person is born again, he is radically
transformed. “If any man is in Christ,
he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians
Question: Does God have emotions?
Answer: Yes, indeed.
The Bible says God has many kinds of emotions. He is not an impersonal “Force” or “Higher
Power” out there. In fact, since God is
perfect and infinite, He has perfect and infinite emotions far more than we
do. He is not a celestial Stoic who is
as unfeeling as a rock.
The Bible says God has peace within Himself. He is “the God of peace” (Philippians
4:9). God is perfectly happy. Zephaniah
God has perfect self-control over His emotions,
unlike us. He does not lose His temper
or fall helplessly in love. He is not
overwhelmed by grief or giddy with joy.
God is never worried, confused or lonely. Read the Bible and find out more about
God. Believe in Christ and you will know
God personally (John 17:3).
Question: Is Hell temporary or
eternal?
Answer: Many people think Hell is only
temporary. Some say it is like a kind of
Purgatory to prepare sinners for Heaven.
They say it is like prison – once you have served your sentence, you are
released. Still others think that
sinners suffer for varying lengths of time according to the number and degree
of their sins, then are annihilated. And others just deny Hell altogether. All of these argue that a loving God would
not punish anyone in Hell forever.
But the Bible repeatedly says that Hell is
eternal. Jesus called it “everlasting
fire” and “everlasting punishment” as eternal as Heaven (Matthew 25:41,
46). “The fire shall never be quenched”
(Mark
Man has sinned against an infinitely holy God and
deserves eternal punishment. Even in
Hell, sinners continue to sin and add to their guilt. Our only hope is to turn to the Lord Jesus
Christ before we die. Do it now. Tomorrow may be too late.
Question: Why do you say that Jesus
Christ is the only way to God?
Answer: Because that’s what the Bible says. It may not be popular in a day of pluralism and
post-modernism, but God’s Word outweighs all our opinions and
philosophies. If God says there is only
one way, the matter is settled. It is
not arrogance, just the truth.
The Lord Jesus Christ said, “I am the way, the
truth and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me” (John 14:6).
He is the only door (John 10:7).
Nobody knows God except those to whom Jesus chooses to reveal Him
(Matthew
According to the Bible, all other religions lead
to Hell, not to Heaven (Matthew
Question: Where was Christ’s spirit
between the crucifixion and resurrection?
Answer: Here’s what the Bible says. First, when Jesus was dying on the cross, He
said to the thief crucified next to Him:
“Today you shall be with me in
Second, I Peter 3:18-19 says that Jesus “also went
in spirit to make a proclamation to the spirits in prison.” He announced His victory to the defeated
demons in Hades. He didn’t preach the
Gospel to them or offer a second chance to lost sinners. Ephesians 4:8-10 says He took them
captive. In His death and resurrection,
Jesus sealed the doom of His enemies (Colossians
Ignore the bizarre views that say Jesus visited
the Indians, went to Purgatory, suffered in Hell, got on a UFO, etc. That’s all nonsense. The Bible alone tells us the answer. He lived, He died, He
arose. He won!
Question: Is adultery the
unforgivable sin?
Answer: The Bible says, “Thou shalt
not commit adultery” (Exodus
But adultery is not unforgivable. Neither is any other sexual sin. Jesus forgave a woman caught in the very act
of adultery. He said to her, “Neither do
I condemn you. Go and sin no more” (John
Immorality is glorified on TV, but God calls it
sin. It leaves a deep stain on our conscience. If you have fallen, there is hope. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah
Question: Is Man an animal?
Answer: No. The
theory of Evolution wrongly says that humans evolved from lower forms of animal
life and therefore are still basically animals.
But the Bible teaches the real truth.
It says Man was created “in the image of God” (Genesis
Humans are capable of doing right and wrong. Animals are not. Humans can think, love, believe and obey
God. Animals cannot. God gave Man authority over animals (Genesis
The theory of Evolution seeks to distort Man’s
distinct dignity and even to deny the existence of God. But we humans are responsible to our
Creator. The Bible says so.
Question: Should we fear God?
Answer: Yes, definitely. We rarely meet a true God-fearing man. “There is no fear of God before their eyes”
(Romans
To fear God is to have a serious reverence for His
holy authority. The Bible says, “Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy
Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body
but cannot kill the soul. But rather,
fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell” (Matthew
Question: Why are we here?
Answer: God created us for a purpose. Therefore, our existence has meaning. Atheism and Evolution only offer meaningless
chance. When you run from God, life is
filled increasingly with despair. True
meaning in life is found only in a personal relationship with God. Read the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible.
The Bible says, “The Lord made all things for Himself” (Proverbs 16:4).
We exist for God, not for ourselves.
He reveals His glory to us and calls on us to return it to Him in faith,
love and worship. When we do, we fulfill
the purpose of our existence. “Whatever
you do, do all to the glory of God” (I Corinthians
In the end, God will manifest His glory to the entire universe. Everything will reflect glory back to God. All of us will, too, whether by praise in Heaven or by suffering for our sins in Hell. We can now enjoy the fulfillment of our existence by knowing God and worshipping Him in love. The way to know God is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you fulfilling the purpose of your existence?
Question: Isn’t religion just a lot
of superstition?
Answer: Most religions are, but not the true
one. The Bible explicitly warns against
superstitions and myths (I Timothy 1:4, 4:7; 2 Timothy 4:4; Titus 1:14; 2 Peter
1:16). True Christianity is based on
fact, not fiction. The events in the
Bible actually happened. God really does
exist and has spoken to us in the Bible.
Romans 1:18-25 says that God has shown His
existence to all men. But sinful Man has
distorted God’s truth and perverted His true religion. The result is idolatry and superstition. All false religions are perversions of the
truth. T hey
promote false ideas about God. Their
religious worship is based on superstitions like magic, luck and kharma. That’s why
the one true God utterly condemns all false religions (Deuteronomy
18:9-14). God hates superstition, as do
all true Christians.
True worship of God is not done by magical
gestures, incantations and repetitious rituals (Matthew 6:7). True worship is “in Spirit and in truth”
(John
Question: Did God choose who would
be saved?
Answer: Yes.
The Bible says, “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew
Ephesians 1:4-5 says, “He chose us in Him before
the foundation of the world, having predestined us to adoption according to the
good pleasure of His will.” Back in
eternity, God chose some to be saved. He
did not select them because they are any better than the rest, nor because He
knew they would believe. The decision
was God’s alone. Jesus said, “You did
not choose me, but I chose you” (John
Remember, no one deserves to be chosen. We are all guilty. God has the right to choose whomever He
wishes. “I will have mercy on whomever I
will have mercy” (Romans
Question: Why is there so much
silliness in some churches?
Answer: It is because they do not fear God. If they did, they would never dare bring
frivolity into a worship service.
Sometimes they have over-reacted to the dullness of cold ritualism and
gone to the opposite extreme. But that
is no excuse.
Many churches are like the Israelites in Exodus
32:6. They forsook the true worship of
God and “rose up to play.” They resemble
a three-ring circus, complete with clowns.
The preacher tells jokes. Some
engage in hysterical laughter and other childish nonsense. They want entertainment, not holiness. They want to have fun, not worship God. They are bored with in-depth Bible preaching
and teaching (2 Timothy 4:3-4). They
must repent.
The Bible says, “Let all things be done decently
and in order” (I Corinthians
Question: How can I stop having
nightmares?
Answer: Nightmares are caused by various deep
problems. If the underlying root is
taken care of, the symptoms should gradually cease. One cause of nightmares is fear (Genesis
15:12; Judges 7:13-15). People fear many
things. The worst is the fear of
death. Guilt is another cause. Our consciences remind us of our sins,
perhaps one sin in particular. Painful memories, worry and grief can also cause nightmares.
But there’s hope.
God offers to heal our inner problems by His grace. His loving promises alleviate our fears and
worries (I John
The Bible says: “He gives sleep to His beloved”
(Psalm 127:2). “You shall not be afraid
of the terror by night” (Psalm 91:5).
“When you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be
sweet” (Proverbs
Question: Does the Bible approve of
women priests?
Answer: No. In
the Old Testament, only men were ordained as priests (Exodus 28-29; Numbers
18:7). Pagan religions had priestesses
like Jezebel, but God forbade them in
God ordained priests in the Old Testament, but not
in the New Testament. The church has
pastors, not priests. A pastor is a
shepherd, elder and overseer (Acts
Question: How can I know God?
Answer: Everyone knows God exists, for He has
revealed Himself through the created universe (Romans
To know God, we need a personal introduction. God introduces Himself to us through Christ –
and only through Christ (Matthew
To know God is to be known by God, and to love and
be loved by Him (I Corinthians 8:3; Galatians 4:9). Those who die without knowing God will be
punished forever (2 Thessalonians 1:8).
Wouldn’t you like to know God?
Question: Will I go to Heaven if I
am a good person?
Answer: No, you won’t. You could never be good enough. No one is.
“There is none righteousness, no, not one” (Romans
This wrong notion is extremely widespread. Some parents say to their children, “Be a
good boy or a nice girl, and you will go to Heaven.” Many churches teach this. Thus, many people think God will accept them
if they do enough good deeds. But the
Bible says, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to
His mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5). God
does not weigh our good deeds and our sins to determine if we go to Heaven.
You cannot earn a ticket to Heaven by trying to be
good. Some try, but fear they may not
have done enough good. It’s all
useless. God says, “By grace you are
saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God; not of works, lest
anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Stop trying and start trusting Christ.
He alone can save you.
Question: What church should I
attend?
Answer: Everyone should attend church. Believers are commanded to do so by God, and
they harm their souls, families and testimonies if they do not attend regularly
(Hebrews
A church should believe the Gospel and right
doctrine. God tells believers to avoid
those that preach false gospels and heresy (Galatians 1:8; 2 Corinthians
No church is perfect. Many are filled with hypocrites – but not
all. There are many fine churches that
meet the Biblical standards. Find one
and go regularly. The Lord bless you as you do.
Question: Are ghosts real?
Answer: Yes, but not in the way some people
think. The spirits of dead people do not
come back to haunt us. They do not hang
around graveyards. The Bible strictly
forbids us from trying to call them up at séances, including ouija boards (Deuteronomy
Then there are spirits known as angels and
demons. They are quite real. They do not have physical bodies, but they do
think, feel and talk. On extremely rare
occasions, they have appeared to humans, sometimes in disguise (Hebrews 13:2; 2
Corinthians
Ignore the rumors and myths about ghosts that
circulate around Halloween. Most
reported sightings are hoaxes, hallucinations, mistaken identities or the
dreams of over-active imaginations. The only reliable guide in these things in the Bible (Isaiah
Question: Is Allah the same as the
God of the Bible?
Answer: No.
There is only one true God, but many false gods (I Corinthians
8:5-6). God revealed Himself in the
Bible. His name is “I AM” (Exodus
There are many major differences between the
two. God is “Father, Son and Holy
Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). The Koran says
Allah is not a Trinity nor a father. Scripture says Jesus is the eternal Son of
God, but the Koran denies this. “God is
love” and offers undeserved grace and mercy to all sinners. Allah loves only righteous Moslems, who must
earn mercy. Allah’s justice is cruel and
harsh. God is personal and knowable, but
Allah is transcendent and personally unknowable.
Scholars have shown that Allah is the ancient
moon-god of the Ishmaelites (Arabs) in Biblical
days. The one true God commanded, “You
shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus
20:3). He condemns all pagan gods. “All the gods of the nations are idols”
(Psalm 96:5). “They sacrificed to
demons, not to God” (Deuteronomy 32:17; I Corinthians
Question: What is Heaven like?
Answer: Heaven is a wonderful place far greater than
we can imagine. The Bible tells us about
it. “God will wipe away every tear from
their eyes. There shall be no more
death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There
shall be no more pain” (Revelation 21:4).
There is only peace and joy there (Psalm
Jesus described Heaven as “my Father’s house”
(John 14:2). It is God’s celestial
palace and temple. Heaven is filled with
God’s holiness and glory (Revelation
Not everyone is going to Heaven. Most are going to Hell (Matthew
Question: Why did Jesus throw the
money-changers out of the
Answer: God provided the
Many churches are the same today as back
then. Rather than being houses of
worship and prayer, they are filled with entertainment and frivolity. What would Christ think of bingo, raffles and
other money-making schemes? Worse still,
the holy worship of God has been corrupted by heresy and scandal. Religious hypocrisy is rampant. If Jesus were here today, He would do exactly
what He did back then. It is time to
clean up our churches and repent before the Lord. Let us examine our hearts and return to
worship according to the Holy Bible.
Question: How could Jesus be both
God and man?
Answer: The Bible says that Jesus was a perfect man
without sin (Hebrews
The key is found in His birth. Jesus had no human father. God was His father. He was conceived and born of the Virgin Mary
by a special miracle. “God sent forth
His Son, born of a woman” (Galatians 4:4).
It is recorded in Matthew 1 and Luke 1 and 2. He was the only person ever born like this
and therefore is totally unique. He is
called Emmanuel, which means “God with us” (Matthew
Jesus was not a man who became a god, as some
cults teach. He was already God from
eternity. Rather, Jesus was God who
became a man, the God-Man. “God was
manifested in the flesh” (I Timothy
Question: Are “out-of-body
experiences” real?
Answer: No, they are not. In recent years, there have been many reports
about people who claim that they were in a hospital, then their spirit left
their body, went down a dark tunnel, saw a bright light and found peace. Then, they say, their spirit re-entered the
body and they recovered. There are other
variations to the story.
Some of these reports are simply hoaxes to sell
books or get attention. Others are best
explained as dreams or hallucinations due to physiological phenomena or
medication. Still others are occultic, perhaps even demonic. In any case, they contradict the Word of
God. According to the Bible, we die when
our spirit leaves our body (Genesis 35:18; John
Paul and others were granted the unique privilege
of going to Heaven and back (2 Corinthians 12:1-4). They told the truth about what awaits us
after death. The popular reports clearly
contradict what the Bible says about death, the afterlife, salvation and God. Therefore, they are false.