Starting With God » Q & A

Is it wrong for Christians to say that Jesus is the only way to God?

startingwithGod.com — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 08:07:12 +0000

God is so clear about how we are acceptable to Him. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). And many times Jesus talked about coming to give us eternal life. He stated this quite directly: “…it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life” (John 6:40).

If we could come to God through any religious figure (ie. Buddha, Allah, Mohammad, Hindu gods, etc.), or through any religious effort…then Jesus did not need to come to earth and die on a cross for our sins. But this was God’s plan–God Himself paying for our sin, so that full forgiveness could be given to us. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

To believe in Jesus means life; to not believe in Him means remaining guilty from personal sin and under God’s judgment. God offers forgiveness to any who will come to Him.

If you would like more information on how Christianity compares with other major religions, such as Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, please see the article: Connecting with the Divine.

And if you would like to see a very helpful article that explains how we know that Jesus is God, please see: Beyond Blind Faith.

How much does God forgive?

startingwithGod.com — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:04:02 +0000

First of all, we all sin (Isaiah 53:6 “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” and Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”).

The fact that you recognize your sin and feel badly about it should give you encouragement for several reasons. For one thing, a lot of people sin and don’t think there’s anything wrong with it – yet God has opened your eyes to seeing how destructive it can be. But God does not want you to live with guilt. He wants you to know and fully experience His forgiveness.

God does not simply overlook our sin and say, “You’re forgiven.” God sees our sin but is ready to forgive us because Jesus fully took OUR sin on Himself and paid for our sin by His death on the cross. Our sin is serious and it cost Jesus incredible suffering. But from the moment we received Christ into our lives, His forgiveness is ours. We can’t ever make up for our own sin or suffer enough for it – nor does God want us to. “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8.

But what about when we struggle with an area and keep on sinning? Does God get so weary forgiving us that we, at some point, reach our limit?

Jesus was asked by the disciples how many times they needed to forgive someone. “Then Peter came and said to Him, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven’” (Matthew 18:21,22). It’s unlikely that Peter could keep track of whether he forgave a particular individual 490 times yet, so you see Jesus’ point. You always forgive, because God always forgives us. God does not have a limit. He died for every one of your sins—those you’ve committed and those you will commit—past, present, and future sins.You need to begin looking at your sin the way God looks at it. And here is what He says in the Bible:

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1John 1:9

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense–Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1John 2:1,2

“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12

“You have put all my sins behind your back.” Out of sight. God no longer “sees” me in light of my sins. He sees Jesus righteousness for me.” Isaiah 38:17

“You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” Never to be found at sea. Not “dropped” into the sea, “hurled.” Micah 7:19

“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” Sins are no longer “kept on file”, record is blotted out, destroyed. God cannot “forget” like in human error, but He chooses to “not remember.” Isaiah 43:25

“But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” Romans 5:20

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself…in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them…For our sake He made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:18,19,21

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

“…since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1

We are told that Satan is the “accuser of the brethren”, meaning that Satan will try to convince us that God could never love us. We need to recognize those thoughts as lies and instead choose to believe what God says. What God says about us in His Word (the Bible) is truer than anything we could think or feel. Jesus said that those who build their lives on His word are those whose lives stand strong and secure, able to weather anything in life (see Matthew 7:24-27).

If you’ve asked God to forgive you and to come into your life — you are forgiven!!! His word says so. Thank Him for His forgiveness and begin to rejoice in your secure relationship with Him. He is able to change areas of your life that don’t line up with His desire for you. 1 Corinthians 1:9 says, “God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with his Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Where did Jesus claim to be God?

startingwithGod.com — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:06:08 +0000

There are numerous places where Jesus made statements alluding to His deity. Here are just a few from the Gospel of John:

John 5:18
John 5:22-24
John 8:57-59
John 10:30-33
John 12:44-46
John 13:12-14
John 14:6

In John 10:30-33, notice the crowds’ reaction to what Jesus says…

“I and the Father are one.”
The Jews took up stones again to stone Him.
Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?”
The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.”

For more statements that Jesus made about Himself, please see:

John 6:32-35
John 8:12-14
John 10:7-11
John 11:21-27
Matthew 20:25-28
Mark 9:31-32
John 3:16-18
John 6:37-40

How can I be sure the Bible is really the Word of God?

startingwithGod.com — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:05:40 +0000

Jesus referred to the Old Testament as Scripture and quoted from it often. And we’re told, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do” (2 Timothy 3:16,17 – New Living Translation).

For more evidence for the Bible being God’s Word to us, please see the article, “Why You Can Believe the Bible”. It provides historical and archaeological reasons for the Bible’s authenticity, and answers skeptics questions about it.

Can a Christian lose their salvation?

startingwithGod.com — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:03:55 +0000

This is a difficult question, and books could be (and have been) written in response. But let me give you a shorter answer. I’d like to comment on a couple of things before I directly answer your question.

First of all, the Bible clearly teaches that God is the judge, not us. Typically when someone asks this question it is in regards to someone else, not themselves. And, though I’ll give you what I see in Scripture, it is not our role to judge or condemn someone else. God has all the information regarding their heart, their sincerity in receiving Him or not, their sanctification and timeline for that, His plan for their life.

Secondly,how Christians grow in their relationship with God and in their outward lifestyle varies a lot. I was deeply in love with God from the moment I received Him, but it was a couple of years before God straightened out some external behavior. So, to other Christians who didn’t know me, I could “appear” to not be a real Christian. God sanctifies us, changes us, on His time table and it would be a huge disservice to a Christian to bring their eternal security into question over behavior that we judge to be contrary to how a Christian should live.

Regarding losing our salvation: Salvation is offered us purely through Jesus’ death on the cross for us, as a gift of His grace. We, through Christ alone,from the moment we receive Him into our lives, become His child, declared righteous,forgiven, sanctified in His eyes, and have entered a relationship with Him which He intends to be permanent, with the promise of eternal life. This does not hinge on our personal holiness, or levels of faith, or sacrifices, or good works or religious acts. Salvation through Jesus is purely God’s gift, received once by faith. At that moment we have crossed over from death into life, free from the condemnation of the law and placed under His grace, transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, no longer enemies of God but His child, sealed with the Holy Spirit within us, He has become our God and we His child, and we are at peace with God, reconciled to Him.

The above is based on verses such as:

Romans 5:8
Romans 5:1
Romans 6:22,23
Romans 10:8-10
Hebrews 9:15
Hebrews 8:10-12
Romans 4:13
Romans 3:20-24
Romans 10:4
John 10:26-28
Ephesians 1:5-8
Ephesians 1:13,14
John 5:24
1 John 5:11-13

Some may ask…”what if they refuse to repent of their sins?” Again,we are not the judge. They may be resisting God’s work in their life, resisting the Holy Spirit’s prompting, but I don’t think that would necessarily bring their eternal security into question. God is very patient and allows all of us to resist His prompting in our lives. Some of us change in an area right away, for some it takes longer. If someone becomes a Christian and there is never any change in their heart or lifestyle over time, then it’s possible that person never really wanted Christ in their life to begin with or never understood what becoming a Christian is all about. Romans 12:1,2 talks about how a Christian grows. As a Christian yields to God and spends time in His Word, he or she will be changed by God. In Romans 7, Paul talks about how difficult it is for him to overcome covetousness, and sees his hope as God’s acceptance of him and ability to change him, expressed in Romans 8.

Some may ask…”what if a Christian renounces God?” Here again, let me say that we don’t know if this is a temporary place in their life or not. I clearly remember feeling the weight of responsibility as a Christian, and wondered if I should walk away from it all. For many Christians who don’t understand God’s grace, they are then living under the law, and often feeling like they can never please God.They don’t understand the freedom they have in Christ and how to rest in God’s ability to guide, teach and change them. So some Christians do not follow God because they don’t understand living by faith, the Spirit-filled life,or living under God’s grace. For others who seem to walk away from God because they simply find temptations more appealing, we have Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son(Luke 15) and how the father welcomes him back. The son never was disowned by the father, but took himself away from being in relationship with his father and suffered in this life until he went back to his father. I think this is true for Christians who aren’t in fellowship with God. They are likely to be involved in things that are destructive to their lives here on earth. But I don’t think it means they are no longer Christians.

Eternal life is a free gift. When someone receives Jesus Christ, wanting to be a follower of Him,Jesus enters their life and they come into a relationship with Him. If they seem to not grow or turn from Him, they certainly lose out on what God has for them in this life. They are not at all experiencing the benefits of knowing Christ. If they continue down this path, at some point there is reason to question whether they would go to heaven if they were to die at that point. Hebrews 6:4-9 does raise caution about this. But again,God’s intention and desire is that they understand His love and His ability to work in their life. What is of utmost value to a Christian who is not walking with God, is to pray for him or her, to love that person, and as God leads you, to encourage them to see God’s heart and the value of walking with Him.I think this is far more beneficial for them than cautioning them about their eternal security. If they are not walking with God it is likely due to their perspective about this life and a short-sighted view of God.

If I sin, will I still go to heaven?

startingwithGod.com — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:02:20 +0000

There are several issues to discuss about this.

Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit

(Gal 5:22) – as the Holy Spirit directs our lives and transforms us, it is His intention to build in us self-control. Becoming like Jesus is described as “sanctification” in the Bible – a progressive change where God builds holiness and His character in our lives.

Every Christian struggles with sin,

and the sin that has our attention will likely change over time. It is important to let God point out sin in our lives, and allow Him to change it in His timing and His way. If we try to pick a sin and exert self-effort to overcome it, we will likely fail. It is God who changes us, and rather than our self-attempts, focusing on our will power or our determination…God would rather we focus on Him and His power. He wants us to trust Him to change us, rather than trusting in ourselves.

Paul struggled with covetousness,

and describes this in Romans 7. The more he tried to obey the law, the more the law condemned him, because he couldn’t do it. His conclusion? When he asks, “who will free me from this body of sin and death?” his answer is, “Jesus” and proceeds to explain in Romans 8.

Other verses that may be helpful:

1 John 1:7-2:2 – Some excerpts from that: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness…. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins…”

No one who is a Christian lives a perfect life, totally pleasing to God. But we are accepted by God due to Jesus’ death on our behalf, and we stand forgiven and declared righteous in God’s eyes because of Jesus’ righteousness.

Romans 3:20-26 – “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood. He did this to demonstrate His justice, because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished– He did it to demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”

God says that we are no longer under the law (the demands and expectations of God) based on performance. Instead, we are under His grace, because Jesus fulfilled the demands of the law, and by His grace welcomed us into a relationship with Him.

The basis for eternal life is our faith in Jesus, not our ability to overcome sin. Jesus died on the cross because of our sin. He offers us forgiveness based on what He has done. He offers us righteousness before Him, acceptance as a child of God because He bought our salvation.

Our focus now is to be in His Word, asking Him to build into our lives what we see in the Bible, relying on Him to do it in us. Don’t get discouraged but continue to trust Him, continue to rest in His ability to change and free you from sin. Obey Him as He gives you a way of escape from temptation — take the way of escape! (1 Corinthians 10:13), but know that the transforming power belongs to Him, not to us.

Is baptism necessary?

startingwithGod.com — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:01:41 +0000

John 1:12 tells us what is necessary to become a Christian. “But to all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God.” The word “believe” in that verse is the same word that John uses 99 times in his gospel. And it means to fully rely on, to fully trust in Jesus.

All of Romans shows that a person comes into a relationship with God by faith, by believing. Paul goes into great lengths in Romans 2-4 (especially 4) to show that Abraham was saved, was declared righteous by God, because of his faith in God — not because of his circumcision. In verse 2, Paul refers to circumcision as “works”. If Abraham had been made righteous by circumcision, then he would have something to boast about (4:2) but not before God. God accepts people and brings them into a relationship with Him based on their faith….”trusting Him who justifies the ungodly.” (4:5)

There is a spiritual baptism which is a part of salvation. When we believe in Him we are baptized into Christ (Romans 6:3,4). This is a very real and spiritual baptism, just like being crucified with Him is also spiritual (not literal) (Rom 6:5).

While all believers in Jesus should follow His command to be baptized (Matthew 28:19), it is not essential for, nor equivalent to salvation. Salvation is by grace through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9, 1John 5:11-13, John 3:16, Luke 7:50, Romans 10:9-10, Acts 16:30-31, Romans 1:16-17, 2Timothy 3:15, 1Peter 1:3-5,9). Water baptism is an outward sign of an inner transformation and cleansing that identifies one with the body of Christ (Romans 6:1-16).

When one is baptized by water, it is to be an identifying with the body of Christ, a testimony to others that this person believes in Jesus and belongs to Him. It is not the baptism that saves them, but their faith in Jesus. It’s similar to walking to the front of a church at a gospel presentation. The walk down the aisle is not what saves a person, but their faith in Jesus. Water baptism or public confession is acknowledging what has already become true of this person – that they believe in Jesus. John 15 and other places talk about Jesus being in us as soon as we believe. Much of Scripture talks about Him coming into our lives (Rom 8:9-10) when we believe.

From the moment we receive Christ we are baptized by the Spirit. First Corinthians 1:12-13 says “For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” And Ephesians 1:13-14 says, “In Him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory.” Romans 8 also talks extensively about the Spirit dwelling in those who believe.

What if God seems really distant in my life?

startingwithGod.com — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:00:06 +0000

I think it’s totally normal to go through seasons in our life. It makes sense to me that there are seasons. For example, seasons like a baby, a toddler,a teen, a middle aged, and a senior. Life progresses like that. Then in God’s creation, we see seasons as well. Spring – full of new leaves and shoots,Summer – when the fruit is ripe and yummy, Autumn – when the leaves turn and trees start to produce the part of the trunk that makes it strong, and finally winter -when things seem hopeless and lifeless.

So, I think it’s normal to have seasons in our walk with God…times when the ‘closeness’ just isn’t there as much as it was before. I want to encourage you to consider this possibility. Of course, there are pat answers like “read your Bible more” or “just pray more”, but they don’t really answer much, do you think?

Maybe this is just a refining time in your life where you need to just follow God as best you know how, love Him, tell Him so and let the feelings come later.You can have a Christian walk even when you don’t ‘feel’ close, know what I mean? You’ve given Him your life, you belong to Him and nothing can change that.

All your strong Christian friends will share similar experiences with you if they’re honest. I know lots of believers who have had times like this.

Of course, there is always the possibility that there is sin in your life. You could take some time to really talk to God about that. Ask Him to show you if there is anything in your life that is short circuiting your communion with Him. But if He doesn’t show you anything specific, then it’s probably safe to say that it’s not that. See Psalm 32:5 -”Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’– and you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

I would spend time with people who encourage you in your faith. Tell them how you feel and ask them to pray for you. When you spend time with God, give Him the freedom to just love you – seek Him for HIM, not for the feeling of closeness that you desire. That is not bad by any means, but just be patient.

Spend time thinking about what’s true of you because of Jesus. You are God’s child. You are forgiven.

We know that “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6), so we know He’s working in you even if you can’t see it or feel it!

Ask Him to help you trust and wait. You’ll be okay. I hope that doesn’t sound like a pat answer. I don’t mean it to…I just know that even though this time may be a little scary, He is watching over you with a love that never ends(Jeremiah 31:3).