• So What is A Christian?
• Where did God come From?
• Why are there so many hypocrites in the church?
• How can we know there is a God?
• I tried to be a Christian once but failed. Where did I go wrong?
• Why does God allow evil?
• Why does God allow people to die of starvation?
• Why do Christians always preach at us?
• Why is it that God doesn't answer our prayers?
• Why do Christians suffer?
• Why believe the Bible when it's full of mistakes?
• Science tells us that the earth is millions of years old, doesn't this conflict with the Bible?
• Why do I have to go to church?
• Is it wrong to be involved in the occult?
• What about the heathen?
• If I become a Christian will I have to give up smoking?
• I was baptized as a child. Isn't this good enough?
• How could God punish His innocent son for our sins?

So What is a Christian?

A Christian is one who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. They believe that he is the Son of God, that He died to pay the price for their sins Romans 3 : 22-25a , they have accepted His Lordship which means that they live the way He says to live Matthew 7 : 21 . You can see how He wants you to live by reading the Bible, principally the New Testament.

The word 'Christian' means 'Christ in' and this refers to the Holy Spirit which dwells within any person who has committed themselves to the Lord. The moment at which the Holy Spirit comes upon a person is referred to as Baptism in the Holy Spirit and often accompanies water baptism. See also So What Do I Need To Do To Be Saved?

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Where did God Come From?

Sometimes our kids may say that they have done something that is so out of their reach and above their abilities that we know they can't have done that but they are willing to say that they have done it because it is so far above their comprehension that they don't know it's obvious that they can't have done it. Their 7 or 8 year old minds just can't comprehend the enormity of what they are talking about and it is in just the same way that we are unable to comprehend the enormity of God and are unable to answer the sorts of questions like where did He come from, How did He create all things and how can He be everywhere at the same time. ( Psalm 139 verses 1-6, Ecclesiastes 3 verse 11).

Consider creation outside of our own planet. There is no end to space, it is infinite. Can you really grasp the concept of the infinite? It is by these sorts of means that God reveals Himself in creation as above everything, He should be, He made it all! It's a bit like asking a clay jar to understand why the potter made it or where the potter came from ( Isaiah 45, verse 9 ) , there is no hope of understanding and that is why we must come to God in faith, not knowing all the answers but understanding that He is the Creator and as we accept Him in faith, we become released into the fullness of the plan that He has for us, even you.

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Why are there so many hypocrites in the church?

We need to admit that there are hypocrites within the church. There are hypocrites in every walk of life. The thing is we need to realise that God knows who is genuine and who isn't and we will all be called to account for what we have and haven't done one day. Whether Joe Bloggs from so and so a church practices what he preaches ultimately will not make a lot of difference to you on the day of judgement, but what you have done for or against the will of God will. The best thing to do to combat the influence of hypocrisy within the church is to become a Christian and practice what you know to be right. Jesus doesn't like hypocrisy either. Check out Matthew 13 : 24-30; Matthew 13 : 36-43 and Matthew 7 : 1-5. The thing is church isn't full of perfect people, it is full of sinners who have been saved by grace through faith.

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How can we know there is a God?

We can see God through His work. What work? Creation. (See Romans 1 : 19-20 ). Science would have us believe that at some point in time there was no matter whatsoever, this is based on observations that the universe is continuously expanding and therefore if you go back in time the universe was once at a point of nil expansion, or ultimate compression. If you think I'm having you on check out Stephen Hawking's book 'A Brief History of Time' which won a Nobel Prize in physics. At some point in time there was a 'big bang' or some form of explosion, no cause is given. And from this point onwards the universe has been expanding. Further, the primordial gases and elements formed into more and more complex molecules until eventually there was a combination of them that kick started themselves into life and started reproducing. This then led to them forming more and more complex forms of life until we had reptiles, mammals, birds flying in the air and eventually us.

This is unbelievable! This is something taught in schools as science fact and yet in science a fact isn't a fact until there has been sufficient proof of an event as to prove beyond any real doubt that it is true. The key word here is 'prove'. The process described above is known as 'The Theory of Evolution' and is just that, a theory.

You ultimately must decide what you choose to believe. For me, I see the amazing variety, the interwoven life cycles of plants, creatures and man, the oceans with their inhabitants, the amazing cycles of weather patterns and of geology like the eruption of volcanoes and the new earth and ultimately life that they bring, of the intricacies of the human body and of how no machine can come close to the intricacy and dexterity of the human hand, for instance and I choose to believe that there is a God who created all of this and who created us in our mothers womb ( Psalm 139 : 13) and who loves us and has a plan for us.

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I tried to be a Christian once but failed. Where did I go wrong?

It usually comes down to commitment. In your heart of hearts how committed were you really? If you were committed to the Lord, trials and temptations wouldn't have pulled you away, but would have caused you to pull closer to the Lord.

Often the problem is that we want to follow the Lord but we don't want to give up our little vices. I floundered for years because I wanted to be a Christian but didn't want to give up getting drunk or some of my other vices. The fact is that you can't keep a foot in both camps, you need to decide where you want to be, whose camp you are going to be in and don't sit on the fence. Jesus himself speaks of this in Revelation 3 : 14-22 where, in speaking to the Laodicean church he says because they are neither hot nor cold he will spit them out. So ask God to help you burn for Him, sow into a Spirit-filled church and don't look back at the past but look ahead to the future(Luke 9 : 62). For further reading see Genesis 19 : 1-29.

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Why does God allow evil?

It's interesting, isn't it that we often look at things like murder or rape, see that they are evil and then ask things like 'Why does God allow evil?' The thing is that God's standards are higher than ours ( Isaiah 55 : 9 ), He also sees the lies we tell, the hateful feelings we may have for someone and the way we weren't totally honest in our last tax return as sinful. He says that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through His son Jesus Christ ( Romans 6 : 23 ) and so if He dealt out the appropriate punishment to all who sinned as soon as they did wrong there would be none of us left. You know, we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God ( Romans 3 : 23 ) but God is patient with us all because He doesn't want any of us to perish. That is why Jesus Christ died for us, so that if we accept Him and we accept His payment for our sins and start to try and live our lives the way He shows us in the Bible then we won't have to pay the price ourselves ( Matthew 16 : 24-26 ).

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Why does God allow people to die of starvation?

Why do we always blame God? There is enough food in the world to feed all people many times over, yet there are those who have too much and there are those who starve. When God created man He gave him the job of managing the resources of the world ( Genesis 2 : 15 ; Genesis 1 : 26-27 ; Genesis 9 : 2-3 ) and the current imbalance is due not to God's negligence but because of mans greed and self centeredness, which usually revolves around a love of money ( 1 Timothy 6 : 10 ). The day is coming when all who have done wrong in the eyes of the Lord and haven't turned over a new leaf with Christ will be called to account for what they have done ( Romans 14 : 10-12 ).

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Why do Christians always preach at us?

The following is a quote from Ray Comforts book 'Sold Out'.

"I never knew what real frustration was until I became a Christian. To know Christ and to know others who don't is like standing in a desert next to a well of fresh cool water, watching your friends and loved ones crawling along the hot sand. All they have to drink in that hot burning desert is salt water, and with each mouthful they cry out in despair, through swollen lips and tongue "I thirst". You hold out your glass of fresh cool water knowing the satisfaction it brings and all you hear in return is "Don't try and ram that down my throat" or "I don't like the shape of the glass". Jesus said "If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink....the water I shall give shall be in him a well springing up into eternal life."

There is a part of the Bible called The Great Commission, you'll find it in Matthew 28 : 16-20. In it Jesus says to go and preach the gospel to all men, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus doesn't want you to perish either ( 2 Peter 3 : 9 ). He doesn't say just to speak to the 'good people' but to speak to all men because He wants everyone to be saved and that includes you. It doesn't matter what you have done in your life, whether you have stolen, beaten people, murdered. Nothing is too big for Christ to forgive. He wants to save you and that's why He died on the cross for you, so that He could pay the price for your sinful ways.

God says that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life for those who will accept it ( Romans 6 : 23). There is no way you can earn your way to salvation ( Ephesians 2 : 8-9 ), you can't get saved by doing good things but only by accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. He is the only one who can pay the required price for your sins. That is how much He loves you and wants you to be forgiven, and that is why He died.

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Why is it that God doesn't answer our prayers?

The Bible says that the Lord hears the prayers of a righteous man ( Proverbs 15 : 29 ). The biblical definition of a righteous man isn't of one who does some good things but is a man who has a right relationship with God ( Galatians 3 : 11; Romans 1 : 17 ). To have a right relationship with God means trying to live in obedience to Him. That is one reason why we read the Bible, it's like our textbook for living, it's how you can find out what God does and doesn't like. The most important thing is to not just read the word of God but to obey it also ( James 1 : 22-25 ). No one is perfect but God honors an HONEST try and this is what will make you a righteous man or woman in God's eyes.

Having said that the answer to our prayers may actually be no. We need to remember that His ways are higher than ours, that God is also God of the future, He knows the outcome of what we pray for and although we may think we are praying for the right thing in a given situation, sometimes what we are praying for isn't for the best. As you continue to live in obedience to the Lord you will realise that He loves you dearly and wants the best for you and you will see over time that the Lord does know better and He often gives and does more than you could even imagine.( Ephesians 3 : 20 ).

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Why do Christians suffer?

God doesn't say that Christians won't suffer, in fact God says that as a Christian you may expect suffering and persecution because of the name of the Lord but rather than seeing this as a thing to be feared we should remember that anyone who suffers because of their faith in the Lord will receive a great reward in heaven ( Matthew 5 : 10-12; James 1 : 2-4 ). The other thing to remember is that the Lord promises to be with you where ever you go ( Joshua 1 : 9 ) and to be right by your side in the tough times as well as in the good so you can always lean on Him, you're no longer alone. I've found in my life that if I have the right attitude in times of suffering they can be my best times with the Lord. It is during these tough times that I really feel His love and grace in my life.

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Why believe the Bible when it's full of mistakes?

Show me a mistake. Check out the historical accuracy of the Babylonian captivityor the Assyrian captivity. Check out the rulers mentioned and the time periods in which they reigned. The Bible is accurate. The book of Isaiah was written 700 years or so before Christ and speaks of the earth as being a circle ( Isaiah 40 : 22 ) or how did Job know that the earth is suspended over nothing ( Job 26 : 7). If only the early explorers like Columbus had read their Bibles, they wouldn't have had to worry about falling off the edge of the earth as they thought the earth was flat. How could Job have known the earth was a circle other than because this book we call the Bible is indeed what it says it is; the word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit ( 2 Timothy 3 : 16 )and given through men.

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Science tells us that the earth is millions of years old, doesn't this conflict with the Bible?

Science is in the business of answering the 'how' questions, the Bible tells us the answer to 'who?' As science looks more and more the experts are realising that the earth may not be as old as first thought, the reliability of carbon dating has come in to question. As is often the case, a theory in science is too often portrayed as fact and taught as such. One of the principles on which science stands is that a theory is only a theory until such time as it has been proven to be fact through experiment. The 'theory of evolution' is a case in point. It is a theory, not a proven fact. One interesting theory which shines new light on the creation story as told in the Bible is the 'gap theory' and it goes like this:
Genesis 1 : 1-2 says:

¹In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ²Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Now remember that this is a theory, I'm not saying that this is the exact truth but it's certainly plausible. The main thing to remember is that God knows, His ways are higher than our ways and you will be face to face with the Lord one day and then you may know the full story. The Lord has given us enough information to be able to make a decision on whether we are to have faith in Him and His word, the Bible or not and we all must make that decision for ourselves. I have an interest in physics and for me the field of science serves to reveal some of the awesomeness of God's creation. But I also realise that a lot of scientists, but certainly not all of them, try and explain away things of the Lord. They try to rationalise everything but they don't realise that the things of the Lord are so far over our heads that we can only understand some of His work. He did the physics and chemistry that we are still learning about and grappling to understand.

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Why do I have to go to church?

A good reason for going to church is to fellowship with other Christians , to be with like-minded people who have given their lives to Jesus Christ also, so that by spending time with them you may gain strength in the knowledge that you are not alone as a Christian, that you all experience trials but that you can support each other through those times ( Hebrews 10 : 25 ). Remember that preaching is a way in which God brings His message to you, the preacher is in effect being God's mouthpiece and a part of his job is to equip the saints for service which means to equip you and I to serve the Lord as effectively as possible ( Ephesians 4 : 11-13 ). The message may not always be relevant to you but you will find that often times the message is.

You know, the Bible says that we are all sons of God through faith in Christ (Galatians. 3 : 26 ) and what that means is that God adopts you as His child when you accept Christ as your Lord. That being the case, all those people who go to church and have given their lives to Christ are your brothers and sisters. How exciting! Look at how big a family you have inherited. You belong to a world-wide family who love God too. So be encouraged to spend time with Christians, go to church, realise that although you may feel like you stick out like a sore thumb when you first go to church most of us felt that way at first but as your brothers and sisters in Christ we want the best for you and we want to help you if we can. We've all come out of the world, as we say, which means that we were all unsaved once and we all get tempted in the same ways ( 1 Corinthians 10 : 13 ).

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Is it wrong to be involved in the occult?

Yes. The occult is in direct opposition to the word of God and in fact is satanic in origin. There are many times in the Bible where the Lord speaks out directly against the practices of those involved in the occult, some of which are fortune telling, spiritism, magic practices, horoscopes, hypnotism, seances, ouiji boards, E.S.P., consulting a medium, crystal balls, colour therapy, psychic powers, water witching, using a charm for protection, taking L.S.D., handwriting analysis, practiced mental suggestion, T.M., possession of occultic or pagan religion articles ( Exodus 20 : 4-5; Deuteronomy 18 : 20; Hosea 13 : 2; Acts 16 : 16-18 ).There is a power in many of these things, that power is satanic, and is in direct opposition to God. The thing is that we are supposed to rely on and trust in God and all these things take us from that.

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What about the heathen?

We all have a conscience and it is through this conscience that the Lord speaks to us and we will be judged according to how we respond to our conscience . If the so called heathen knows nothing about Jesus Christ then he will be judged on what he does know and that is the inbuilt knowledge of right and wrong that our conscience gives us ( Romans 1 : 19-20 ). If you are really worried about the heathen, why not become a Christian and go and tell them about the Lord?

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If I become a Christian will I have to give up smoking?

The word of God says that your body is supposed to be a temple of the Holy Spirit
( 1 Corinthians 3 : 16; 1 Corinthians 6 : 19 )and as such you should treat it with the appropriate care and attention, not doing anything that harms it. Is smoking good for your body? I used to smoke, I started when I was nine and didn't quit until I was 29 or so. During that time I tried to give up a few times but never lasted more than 2 weeks, the final victory being won when I gave it to the Lord in prayer. He set me free from it. Why would God set me free from something if it was not a bad thing? Until then I was pretty much powerless against it. I had been trying to be a Christian for some time but I loved my sin too much but the Lord was slowly but surely cleansing me.

You see, the Lord says 'lean on me' ( Proverbs 3 : 5-6 )but when you're nervous or under pressure as a smoker you reach for a cigarette. The smoke then becomes like an idol because it takes the rightful place of God. We are supposed to be able to come to the Lord for comfort, strength and to help us to cope with life not a body destroying cigarette. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6 : 12 be mastered by nothing. Are you really in control of your smoking? I know that my smoking controlled me.

If you are a smoker and you want to follow the Lord you may find that you can only go so far in your Christian walk and can't seem to progress further in the development of your relationship and this will be because the Lord wants to set you free from your bondage.Consider also the following : Matthew 23 : 8; Luke 16 : 13; 1 Peter 2 : 9.

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I was baptised as a child. Isn't this good enough?

The Bible is the word of God given through men ( 2 Timothy 3 : 16 ). As such you will find no where in the Bible where an infant is christened. Baptism was done by full immersion under water and was and is a sign of faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God ( Romans 6 : 4; Acts 2 : 38; Acts 22 : 16 ). Can a baby have faith in Jesus Christ? Christening was originally something that was done to signify that the child has been dedicated to the Lord and would be protected by Him. Unfortunately this has become like the actual baptism to many people and this is contrary to God's word. Jesus says believe and be baptised ( Mark 16 : 16 ). Baptism is also a picture of what has happened in someones life, that they are putting the old them to death by entering into the water and by rising to a new life with Christ as they come out ( Romans 6 : 3-4 ). This just doesn't fit with infant christening.

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How could God punish His innocent son for our sins?

Many wrongly believe that God, the first person, took the sin of man, the second person, and placed it on Jesus, the third person. Take a good hard look at what the Bible says regarding the true identity of Christ. He is God's word in the flesh ( John 1 :1; 1 John 1 :1; Hebrews 1 : 8 ) and that is the awesomeness of Gods love for us; that He became a man, Christ Jesus and died for us so that through faith in Him we might have everlasting life. He decreed that the wages of sin is death, that is because God is Holy. But God is equally love; and He loves us so much that He was willing to pay the price of death for us.

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