Category: world view

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What is your definition of religion?

Pastor Chris,

What is your definition of religion and what is your religion?

~ Lauren

Answer

Lauren,

Religion has to do with man’s efforts to reach God. Christianity teaches that man cannot reach God by his own efforts or on his own merit. The Bible says that “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). In other words the best that we can do is not good enough. Christianity presents God reaching down to man to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. God does this by providing a Savior who is the express image of Himself (Colossians 1:15). He does this out of love and grace (unmerited favor). Therefore Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship. It is a personal relationship with God.

Pastor Chris

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Should I write a book to help atheists see that God is real?

Pastor Chris,

I have recently thought about writing a book to help Atheists see that God iS real. To do this I have studied quantum mechanics and scientific theories about how the universe began. One theory is multiverse theory (multiple universes theory). I find this possible and i think that it can go with Christianity. I believe it is possible that God created heaven, hell, and earTh in three different universes. I am a lutheran christian and in no way want to blasmephy the spirit. So before i write this book for them i want to make sure that this is in no way against the LORd. I just want atheists to see that god And science do not have to go against eAch other.

Answer

Parker,

God is definitely real. It is a good thing to present evidences for Christianity to non-believers and to those who call themselves atheists. Just remember that God is the One who opens the eyes of the blind and the spiritually blind. He must convince non-believers through the working of His Spirit in their lives John 16:7-15). Our job is to bear witness to Him. I would urge you to include scripture in your arguments. God’s word is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). A classic book on defending the authenticity of Christianity is The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict Fully Updated To Answer The Questions Challenging Christians Today.

Pastor Chris

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How do you answer someone who thinks Christianity is narrow minded?

Pastor Chris,

 

What do you feel would be the best answer when someone says, so if someone doesn’t believe the way you do they cannot reach Heaven? Don’t you think that is narrow minded?

 

I said because I believe in God’s Whole word, the Bible. It is not inspired or written by man but by the Holy Spirit thru Man and because of life changes visible by us.

 

I could not get the man I spoke with to believe that. He does not have much faith but likes the Muslims.

 

~ Blake

 

 

ANSWER

 

 

Blake,

 

You have answered well…

 

You might also take your friend to John 14:6 where Jesus says that He is the only way to heaven. Either Jesus is the Lord, a liar, or a lunatic.

 

We can easily rule out lunatic. Lunatics do not behave the way Jesus did.

 

We can rule out liar because the people who heard Him (friends and enemies) never did accuse Him of lying. He Himself claimed to be the truth (again, John 14:6). Liars inevitably get caught in their lies (they get found out).

 

That leaves us with the question of whether or not Jesus is the Lord. His miracles attest to that fact, especially His own resurrection from the dead. The changed lives of the disciples are another evidence of Jesus’ Lordship. They ran away when Jesus was betrayed in the garden. They thought His death was permanent and went into hiding out of fear. Then, after Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples were bold announcers of the Gospel message. They fearlessly told others about Jesus’ resurrection even when it cost them their lives. Rarely, if ever, will people die for that which they know to be a lie.

 

It is not narrow minded to believe what Jesus has declared. It is rational. Jesus is the only way to God.

 

The presence of evil is an important consideration in this discussion. Evil seeks to distort the truth. Satan and his demons are busy deceiving the world concerning the truth of the God of the Bible and His Son, Jesus (1 Cor. 10:20; 1 Tim. 4:1; Rev. 9:20). Since there is only one way to heaven it makes sense that the enemy of our souls will try to keep us from finding it.

 

~ Pastor Chris

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Why does everybody seem to get it and I don't?

Pastor Chris, 

I hate to admit this, but I’m so lost in my life right now and I’ve been struggling with God for about five months now and I don’t understand; all though I try so hard too. I want to believe so bad I get so angry with myself, because the Bible seems so important, but I’m struggling with the fact on How God can see us and know what each one of us are doing. I pray all the time about this, constantly, but I know it’s my own minds problem. I know the Bible states that God is everywhere, but it’s really really hard for me to grasp. Why does everybody seem to get it and I don’t?

~ Jennifer

 

ANSWER

 

Jennifer,

 

Everyone has questions about God. You are not alone.

 

It helps me to read Genesis 1 which describes God as the Creator of everything. I also find my heart renewed in my experience of His majesty when I consider the stars and galaxies of outer-space. The vastness and the complexity of the universe (macrocosm and microcosm) goes beyond the imagination. One of my favorite books on this subject is Powers of Ten: About the Relative Size of Things in the Universe by Phillip Morrison and Phylis Morrison. This book is filled with fascinating photographs of the inner universe and the outer universe that are breath-taking.

 

We are created beings and cannot know everything or even understand everything. Sometimes I think that if God explained everything that even then I would not understand. An imperfect analogy would be a professor of mathematics trying to explain calculus to an infant. The baby is not going to understand. We are infants in these matters.

 

You might consider reading the Bible in a contemporary translation like The Message or The Living Bible. Passages like Genesis 1; Psalm 8; Psalm 148; Revelation 21-22 reveal the majesty of our God and will help you trust Him with the unknowable. The bottom line is this: Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). If you want to know what God is like, study the life of His Son.

 

~ Pastor Chris

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Why is there evil and suffering in the world?

Pastor Chris,

Why is there evil and suffering in the world? 

~John

John,

The problem of evil and suffering are two of the most difficult questions that mankind asks.  However, both are actually answered in the first book of the Bible, Genesis.

The problem of evil is answered by the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  When Adam and Eve gave in to temptation and sinned, evil entered this world.  We have been having problems with evil and sin ever since. 

Wasn’t Satan created perfect?  Yes, he was created without sin.  However, God has chosen to take the great cosmic risk by giving His creation free will.  In short, we can choose to follow the Lord or we can choose to sin.  In eternity past Satan was known as Lucifer.  Being a free moral agent, Lucifer allowed pride to surface and grow in his heart until he rebelled against God.  Satan then pursued Adam and Eve and was successful in leading them to sin and thus rebel against God.

The problem of pain is also answered in Genesis.  When Adam and Eve sinned, there was a penalty that God exacted, which included death, pain, a cursing of the ground, and painful toil (Genesis 3).

If God is good then why doesn’t He do something about these things?  He has.  He sent His Son to die on the cross to pay for our sins.  With Jesus’ resurrection from the dead we have a guarantee of all God’s promises.

Bad things happen whenever men and women buy Satan’s lie.

~Pastor Chris