Answers To Live By
Committing your life to follow God is a huge step. It isn't something you would do without really thinking about it. The Bible calls salvation a free gift. But that free gift doesn't come without changing things once you accept it.
I like to say "It will cost you nothing, but you will give everything." So if you are serious about God enough to ask questions you are in a better place than many people because you understand that this is a life changer. Jesus Himself said that you should count the cost before following Him (Luke 14:26-33).
With that said I want to warn you. If you want to learn how to swim you must jump into the water. You can learn about the technique and even ask people what it is like, but sooner or later you have to stop asking questions long enough to get in. If you want to know God you must accept Him without having all of the answers. Because until you do that you will never know Him.
After you accept Jesus as your redeemer you can finally learn through experience what you would have only heard of from others. I can tell you with certainty that first hand experience is always better. So if you have questions I encourage you to read the answers to common questions people have. But remember that questions never end until you die...and then it will be too late to learn to swim the ocean of God.
Answers To Common Excuses People Have For Not Accepting Jesus
Q: How can we know there is a God at all?
A: How do you prove that anything which is invisible exists? Is there anything you know of that is invisible which you believe is real? How about the wind? It can not be seen but it is there. How do we know that though? It is because we see the trees move by it, the temperature changes with the cool or warm breeze, and we hear the sound as it whistles and howls.
We know it is there because of the effects it has on everything. It is that way with God. We see the worlds, sun, and moon along with everything else in creation. The creative power of God is on display through all of this. We feel the conviction of right and wrong and know what is good and evil...this knowledge is given by God and when we feel guilt for wrong or joy from right it is because the invisible God has written His law on our hearts.
But my favorite way that we can prove God is there is through listening. We can hear His word. He has given it to us in the form of the Bible as He spoke through men. We know He is because He spoke to us and said so.
On another related note: I think if you were to ask God where He came from He would ask you a question. Many people believe in the big bang theory. If you can answer the question of where that original energy came from, then God would be able to answer you. If not, then you have already refused to believe the truth and there is no need to answer you.
Q: How can we trust the Bible is true especially since it has been translated so many times?
A: Have you ever played the game where you tell someone a story and they pass it along to others but by the time it gets back to you the story has changed? It would be a lot easier to trust the story to stay true if you had written it down and simply had people copy it wouldn't it?
If everyone that got a copy translated it properly the message in the end would remain the same. If someone down the line changed it though you could still find out who it was and take the last copy before them and continue sending that along. So there is no reason to doubt the scriptures have still maintained their accuracy.
The only real question is can you trust that it was given by God? The answer to that question is easily seen when you see how people have died for what was written, there are thousands of years between authors and they all say the same things, and even with the harshest critiques it has never been defeated in its truth. The work of men has never been as strong.
Q: Why are there so many religions? Are all of the gods of all religions the same God?
A: There are many religions because people know they need God yet are blind and often unable to find Him because they are fallen and unholy. So the blind people looking for God will feel around in the dark reaching for anything they can to call God.
As you can imagine that would lead to people making up superstitions and going as far as carving idols in wood and stone to worship as though they were gods. The only way blind and unholy people could find a holy God is if He came to them. That is what the God of us Christians did. He has always acted as a God would and His word is truth. He has been proved many times over.
If He was also the same god as other religions He would never have said that He is the ONLY God and ONLY way to be saved. So it is clear He does not claim to be the same god of any other religion.