Ten Common Questions About Christianity
1. The Bible is full of inconsistencies. Why should I believe it?• New Testament written less than a generation after death of Christ – short time so highly reliable.o Most other great literature have much larger time between occurrence and transcriptiono If one refutes the legitimacy of the Bible, they must discard all the great works of literature. • Many archeological finds have confirmed accuracy of original Bible writings• Over 400+ prophecies from Old Testament fulfilled in New Testament• The Bible is the most popular book of all-time but has been attacked mercilessly and unsuccessfully by critics and atheists throughout the years.
2. Why should I believe that Jesus rose from the dead?• Romans did NOT want Jesus to raise from dead as it would continue the Christian uprising and did all they could to ‘keep him dead in the tomb” after the crucifixion. • Posted Roman soldier guards at the tomb were under penalty of death if they allowed anyone to leave the grave with the body or for them to desert their post. But something scared the guards so much that they did just that and deserted (Angel of the Lord)!• His 11 disciples were fractured emotionally, denied being associated with him, and were confused, scared, and scattered after the crucifixion. However, something significant caused them to suddenly take an abrupt 180-degree shift and commit their lives and all they had 100% to Jesus. Eventually this led to them being martyred for their faith. That “something” was seeing Jesus come back from the dead! People will die for the truth, but they will not die for a prolonged conceived false lie!• Over the course of history, many people have died for a lie thinking it was the truth. However, most of Jesus disciples were martyred so if the resurrection did not happen, they would have known that and not ALL died to propagate a lie. The steadfastness of the disciple’s commitment to Christ, even to their own death, cannot be explained away.
3. How is Jesus also God?• The strongest evidence for Jesus being the Son of God is his raising from the dead after his crucifixion. Only a being that is divine and having the power over life or death can we look at as holy.• Jesus is the only religious leader who actually claimed to have been God himself!• Jesus is the only religious leader who actually rose from the dead as he preached, he would do! All other religious leaders are dead and never claimed to be God himself. By his resurrection, he proved he is God.• Jesus carried out hundreds of miracles such as raising the dead, healing lepers and blind men, making the lame to walk, etc. Only someone who had divine godly power can do miracles like that.• Jesus is “son” part of the Holy Trinity, with the “father” (God) and “holy spirit” making up the rest of the trio. The three are all God, however, which can be hard to understand. Look at the different states of water – ice, steam, or water. All three are water in a different state but are all water. Same as Jesus/God/Holy Spirit in their unique existences and forms.• Of all the significant religions in the world, only Jesus claimed to be God, predicted his death and resurrection after 3 days, and offered a way to heaven for those who wanted to trust him as Lord of their lives.• Jesus says in John 10:30 that he and God are one entity, “I and the Father are one.”
4. Why do bad things happen to good people?• Bad things happen to both good and bad people. Being a Christian does not prevent the natural evil found in this world from working its way into our life and bodies.• God permits trials and adversity in the lives of His children to help them become more pure and holy. God’s goal for us is not to make us “happy” but to conform him more into his image to prepare our hearts, minds, and souls for our eventual voyage into heaven/eternity.• We are all sinners in God’s eyes without the sacrifice of Jesus to cover our sins. So, there are truly no “good” people as the world wants to define good. • Nothing better than pain and struggles to turn our hearts back towards God and be willing to hear His voice.• Jesus was without sin, and he suffered the most brutal death on the cross. He was the only “good” person who ever lived in God’s eyes but even he suffered miserably.
5. I feel I am a “good” person. Won’t that get me into Heaven?• Unfortunately, our definition of “good” does not line up with God’s definition. God tells us in Matthew 5:48 to “Be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect”. So, if we’ve sinned once, we are just as guilty in the sight of God as if we’ve sinned 100000 times!• God cannot be in the presence of sin because is pure and holy.• If you came over for breakfast and I was to serve you up an omelet but threw in one rotten egg with all the good eggs, would that be acceptable to you? Of course not. But often we take the sins of our life, try to sprinkle in some good works, and serve it up to God. Just like the tainted omelet is no acceptable to us, nor is our mix of sin and good works pleasing to God.• Only admitting, confessing, and praying to Jesus for forgiveness of our sins, and to accept him as both Savior and Lord of our life will grant His forgiveness for our sins to enter God’s presence as a “good” persona) Romans 3:23 “For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”b) Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”c) Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”d) Roman 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”.e) Romans 10:13 “For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”Are you ready to accept God’s gift of Salvation now? If so, believe in what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross, repent of your sins, and commit the rest of your life to Him. This is not a ritual, just a prayerful guideline for your sincere step of faith:“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”"Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38) 6. Why would a loving God send people to hell?• God has never sent a repentant sinner to hell, and he never will. Only those who reject him will be condemned. • By their choice (to live for Jesus/God or for oneself ignoring Jesus) people decide for themselves where they will spend eternity.• Why would a Just God forgive a wretched sinner who repents? Because he is a merciful and loving God.• Just like any fair judge in a court of law, God condemns an unrepentant sinner who does not live for God to hell because God is fair and just. • God doesn’t want us to reject his son Jesus and thus choose hell. It breaks His heart when we choose instead to live a stubborn self-service life and choose to leave God out of our lives. • Don’t take hell lightly or talk yourself into believing it doesn’t exist — for it does! Instead turn to Jesus Christ and open your heart and life to Him today.
7. How do I know that Jesus is the one true way to Heaven?• Compare Old Testament prophecies where Jesus’ birth, life, and death were written down at least 1,000 years before the New Testament fulfillments. • In John 14:6 it says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me.’” This means the only way to live in heaven with God is by accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior. • I Timothy 2:5. “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” The whole gospel boils down to this truth. Because our sins have separated us from God, we need a “mediator” to bring us back to God and bridge the gap for us between sin and God. Jesus is the only one who could bridge that gap. • By his death, Jesus paid for our sins and bridged the gap that separates us from God.
8. Do I just have to believe the fact that Jesus resurrected to gain eternal life? Doesn’t that make me a real “Christ believer”?• Just believing in historical facts does not save one’s soul nor gain them forgiveness for sins. So, to merely believe that Jesus lived and died, or that God exists, is “intellectual ascent” and does not save your soul. In James 2:19 it says “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!”• Rather to “believe in the name of the only Son of God” means you live out the principles, qualities, and characteristics that Jesus Christ taught both in words and by the fruit (works) of our lives.• Belief and faith are not some head trips but rather how we live. People who do not believe in Jesus Christ exhibit their unbelief in their lives by engaging in lying, stealing, cheating, anger, bitterness, greed, and selfishness of all kinds.• True belief in Christ is trusting Jesus Christ alone for our salvation and eternal life.
9. I don’t believe in God, Satan, Heaven, and hell…That’s your option. But do you not believe because you have done your true diligence and open-minded research and decided that it is all a bunch of made-up stories and fairy tales? Or do you not believe because, if you knew it was all true, it would force you to significantly change your life and belief system?Let me equate your belief in God/Bible/Heaven/hell to not believing in gravity. I mean why not? After all you can’t taste, touch, or see gravity. And you are free to not believe in gravity. But if you were to jump off a tall building regardless of your inability to believe in gravity, you will have to eventually face the results of your gravity-denial will become evident as you hit the ground full force. Do you not believe because you truly have done your homework and dug deeply into testing the validity of the Christian faith? Or have you chosen to place the importance of where you spend your eternal destiny based upon you not wanting to accept the reality of God and Satan merely because it would force you live differently?
10. What about other religions beside Christianity – aren’t they just many different way to the same God?Other religions eternal destiny is based on achievement and good works to get to God, whereas Christianity teaches salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. The world's religions are all man-made ways to try to reach God or earn their way to heaven, but Christianity is a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God in human flesh. Jesus Christ is the only leader of major world religions to claim he was God and rose from the dead to back that up. There can only be ONE God, not multiple figures calling themselves God.Jesus clearly said there is NO OTHER WAY to come to God except through Him, and that if you reject Him, you are rejecting God the Father. Since all other religions say there are OTHER ways to reach God, or MANY ways to reach heaven, they CANNOT all be RIGHT. If they contradict the words of Jesus Himself, then either Jesus is right and they are wrong, or Jesus is a liar and a fraud, and they are right. Since Jesus rose from the dead as he predicted as part of his plan for salvation, and all the leaders of other religions died and stayed dead, you must decide which is the more creditable leader to put your faith in.
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