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Heaven is not a place for those who are afraid of hell; it’s a place for those who love God. You can scare people into coming to your church, you can scare people into trying to be good, you can scare people into giving money, you can even scare them into walking down an aisle and praying a certain prayer, but you cannot scare people into loving God.

Till sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet.

Thomas Watson

Would it be a sin to work at a casino if it's the only place the hired me? I know that gambling and excessive drinking are sins, but would I be held responsible for supporting them if I worked there, even as a custodian or something?

I personally would not work at a casino because of my personal convictions. But do I think it is a sin to work at a casino, probably not.

Hello, I have a question. My father, a religious man, told me something I found shocking during one of our debates. A man who believes Jesus Christ is the son of God can go to Heaven no matter what he's done, no matter how awful. But a good, moral, nonbeliever will get sent to Hell. The way I see it is: a just man is punished while an unjust man is rewarded. Faith teaches a dangerous lesson; that you can do what you want and be exempt of any punishment. How is this at all right?

Thank you for your question! It is indeed a very good question that I’m sure many people who are trying to understand Christianity often times get confused over. I will try to explain it the best I can.

I will start off by saying there are none righteous, no not one (Romans 3:10). We all fall short of perfection. Whether it is greed, lust, anger, jealousy, murder, etc. We all fall short of perfection. Sin is what separates humans from God. Any little imperfection is an infinitely large chasm to a holy and righteous God. The bible tells us that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Death is the penalty of sin. No matter how small or large that sin is, the result is always the same - death. That is why God sent His perfect Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross so that all who put their faith in Him will not have to die because believers are justified by the blood of Jesus. So I will help you define what a true believer of Jesus looks like. It is someone who understands his wretchedness and sinfulness and confesses it to God and puts his faith in Christ. It is someone who longer lives for himself but now lives for God and finds joy in obeying the commandments of God. It is someone who delights in the Truth of God through His Word. It is someone who no longer delights in the sinfulness that was once pleasurable. It is someone who is being sanctified and being conformed to the image of Christ. It is NOT someone who just says he believes in Jesus but lives a life unchanged. It is NOT someone who says he believes in Jesus but enjoys getting drunk over the weekend, sleeping with as many people possible.

Being a believe in Jesus is characterized by an inward change. It is evident through a renewed heart and a mind that is set on things above and not the things of this earth (Colossians 3:2). There are so much more to be said, but I truly hope this helps you understand Christianity a little bit better. Hope this helps.

I've been baptise last year but I still struggle with assurance. I dont know if i'm really born again, if i'm in Christ. When I read the Bible (it's rare that I do..) i see nothing but judgement. Please, am I really saved?

I believe that in the American society, people often times get confused regarding the correlation between baptism and salvation. While baptism is an outward representation of an inward change, it is not transactional in where it is something along the lines of “I am baptized, therefore I am saved.” Assurance is a blessing that true believers get to experience. As you (hopefully) start reading the Word more, you will see God’s love, grace, and mercy pour out throughout Scripture. The gospels tell us of God’s agape love for us in that He sent His only Son to take upon Himself our sins (for those who have saving faith in Him) and nailed it to the cross. Going back to your question about assurance... Assurance comes from watching your life being sanctified by the Holy Spirit. The sinful things that you once found enjoyable are no longer enjoyable anymore. The selfishness that used to define you is now characterized by selflessness and an unconditional love for others. God’s will and desires slowly but surely become your own desires as you now live for the joy of pleasing God through your life. In order to know God’s will, you have to know His Word. It is His absolute Truth that leads you toward holiness. It is only then that you will be able to have full assurance of your salvation.

I have been baptized but i have not read the entire bible and i currently am not involved in a church. I am TERRIFIED of going to hell, it gives me extreme anxiety and i worry often. The bible says that we all come up short to the glory of God, so how can i accept the grace that God has given me through baptism? How can i feel more secure in my faith and stop worrying about going to hell?

Contrary to some beliefs, baptism does not guarantee salvation. Baptism is just the outward profession of an inward change that has been done through and by the Holy Spirit. Assurance of your salvation can only be done when we examine ourselves (2 Cor 13:5) and see His sanctifying work in us. As we study His Word, the Holy Spirit convicts us and reveals to us the parts of us that needs pruning. We will never be perfect. But a true Christian will never stop growing in the Lord and relying on Him for strength. I would suggest starting in the gospel of John. Read it from beginning to end. I believe that you will find the answers you are searching for.

Do you feel like God is just an answer to things we don't know? For example nobody really knows how the world began so we say "God did it", nobody really knows what happens when we die so we say "God did it", maybe you don't know if your husband will come home from war so you say "God will protect him"

I do not believe that “God is just an answer to things we don’t know.” Unfortunately, I have seen it abused in the way that you have mentioned. I believe that there is enough evidence to realize there is something much greater than ourselves. Even going through history and seeing the impact that Jesus had on this earth is astonishing! As much as people try to reject the Truth, there is overwhelming evidence of the life of Christ and the impact that He has brought to this world in the last 2000 years.

What's the point of marriage is there is no marriage in Heaven.

There is no marriage in heaven because we will no longer be lacking or incomplete in heaven. The presence of God Himself will be all we need. While we are on earth, we are imperfect and incomplete. When God saw Adam by himself, he made a suitable helper (Eve) for him. The goal of marriage is not happiness, but rather holiness. It is challenging and it will reveal the carnal parts in our lives, but through the grace of God and through His Spirit, we learn to be holy as He is holy.

Can I get your opinion on why many Churches don't preach much about the Holy Ghost? I understand that preaching about both God and Jesus are important, but I almost never hear much being preached about the One currently on Earth.

The Holy Spirit is definitely (and unfortunately) the most forgotten person in the trinity. I believe it is important to know the role of the Holy Spirit within a believer. After all, it is the Holy Spirit that gives new life, convicts sin, grounds us in His Word, intercedes for us, impart in us gifts for the edification of His church, etc.

What does Jesus mean when he says "not everyone who says to me lord, lord will enter?" What are the requirements to enter if we are saved by faith in his completed work on the cross?

I believe the answer to your question lies in the verses that follow. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23). There are many people who “profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him.” (Titus 1:16). This is the attitude that is most prevalent in American christianity. Many so-called believers live for themselves Monday-Saturday and then go to church on Sunday for their “Jesus for the week.” I believe the verse speaks to people who claim to believe in Jesus but never lived for Him. These are people who believe they were saved but were never saved because no fruit was produced. No sanctification was evident. Therefore, no true conversion actually happened.

Is it wrong for me as a Christian to sometimes want to shut myself away from all human contact? Not forever, just for a little while. I'm getting too stressed. I don't have anyone to talk to that I know that cares. Do I just have to get over it?

Personally, I do not necessarily see it as a bad thing. If you are secluding yourself for the purpose of devoting time to the Lord, it can help you grow your relationship with the Lord. However, we are called as Christians to make disciples and share the gospel (which is quite hard to do when you’re shutting yourself away from people!). Jesus Himself spent 40 days alone before going back to His disciples. Hope this helps!

Would you consider yourself to be a fundamental Christian?

I would say that I believe in the inerrancy of scripture as it pertains to all wisdom concerning eternal life.

I was watching a Christian broadcast a month or so ago and it said something that made sense to me, but I'm unsure if it's supported by Scripture. It said that people sent to the Lake of Fire would eventually cease to exist, fulfilling their 'Second Death'. While this made sense and there are mentions of a 'Second Death', Revelations 14:11 said that the smoke would ascend forever, leading me to have believed like many that it was truly an eternal punishment. What's your take on it?

Annihilationism is the view that lost people in hell will be exterminated after they have paid the penalty for their sins. Its proponents offer six main arguments.

First is an argument based on the Bible’s use of fire imagery to describe hell. We are told that fire consumes what is thrown into it, and so it will be for the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20; 20:10, 14, 15; 21:8)—it will burn up the wicked so that they no longer exist.

Second is an argument based on texts that speak of the lost perishing or being destroyed. Examples include unbelievers perishing (John 3:16) and suffering “the punishment of eternal destruction” (2 Thess. 1:8).

Third is an argument based on the meaning of the word eternal. In hell passages, it is claimed,eternal means only pertaining to “the age to come” and not “everlasting.”

Fourth is an argument based on a distinction between time and eternity. Annihilationists ask: how is it just of God to punish sinners for eternity when their crimes were committed in time?

Fifth is an emotional argument that God Himself and His saints would never enjoy heaven if they knew some human beings (let alone loved ones and friends) were perpetually in hell.

Sixth is an argument that an eternal hell would tarnish God’s victory over evil. Scripture declares that God will be victorious in the end; He will “be all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28). We are told that this idea seems hard to reconcile with human beings suffering endlessly in hell.

I will answer each of these arguments in turn. First is the argument from hellfire. Many passages use this language without interpreting it. It is possible, therefore, to read various views into such passages, including annihilationism. However, we do not want to read our ideas into the Bible, but to get our ideas from the Bible. And when we do, we find that some passages preclude an annihilationist understanding of hellfire. These include Jesus’s description of hell in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus as a “place of torment” (Luke 16:28) involving “anguish in this flame” (v. 24).

When the last book of the Bible describes the flames of hell, it does not speak of consumption but says the lost “will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night” (Rev. 14:10–11).

Second is the argument from passages that speak of destruction or perishing. Once again, when Scripture merely uses these words without interpreting them, many views may be read into them. But once again, we want to read out of Scripture its meaning. And some passages are impossible to reconcile with annihilationism. Paul describes the fate of the lost as suffering “the punishment of eternal destruction” (2 Thess. 1:8). Also telling is the fate of the Beast in Revelation. “Destruction” is prophesied for him in 17:8, 11. The Beast (along with the False Prophet) is cast into “the lake of fire that burns with sulfur” (19:20). Scripture is unambiguous when it describes the fate of the devil, Beast, and False Prophet in the lake of fire: “They will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (20:10). So, the Beast’s “destruction” is everlasting torment in the lake of fire.

Third is the argument from the word eternal. In hell passages, it is claimed, eternal means only pertaining to “the age to come” and not “everlasting.” It is true that in the New Testament, eternal means “agelong,” with the context defining the age. And in texts treating eternal destinies, eternaldoes refer to the age to come. But the age to come lasts as long as the life of the eternal God Himself. Because He is eternal—He “lives forever and ever” (Rev. 4:9, 10; 10:6;15:7)—so is the age to come. Jesus plainly sets this forth in His message on the sheep and goats: “And these will go away intoeternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matt. 25:46; italics added). The punishment of the lost in hell is coextensive to the bliss of the righteous in heaven—both are everlasting.

Fourth is the argument that it is unjust of God to punish sinners eternally for temporal sins. It strikes me as presumptuous for human beings to tell God what is just and unjust. We would do better to determine from His Holy Word what He deems just and unjust.

Jesus leaves no doubt. He will say to the saved, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34). He will say to the lost, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (v. 41). We have already seen John define that fire as eternal conscious punishment in the lake of fire for the devil (Rev. 20:10). A few verses later, we read that unsaved human beings share the same fate (vv. 14–15). Evidently, God thinks it just to punish human beings who rebel against Him and His holiness with everlasting hell. Is it really our place to call this unjust?

I will treat the fifth and sixth arguments together. The fifth is the emotional argument that God and His saints would never enjoy heaven if they knew loved ones and friends were forever in hell. The sixth is the argument that an eternal hell would tarnish God’s victory over evil. It is noteworthy that universalists use these same two arguments to insist that God will finally save every human being. God and His people would not enjoy the bliss of heaven if even one soul remained in hell, they argue. In the end, everyone will be saved. And God would suffer defeat if any creatures made in His image were to perish forever.

I regard these arguments for annihilationism and universalism—from emotion and from God’s victory—as rewriting the biblical story, something we have no right to do. I say this because the Bible’s final three chapters present the eternal state of affairs. The resurrected saints will be blessed with God’s eternal presence on the new earth (Rev. 21:1–4). And, interestingly for our present discussion, each of Scripture’s final three chapters presents the fate of the unsaved:

And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (20:10)

Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown in to the lake of fire. (vv. 14–15)

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. (21:8)

Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (22:14–15)

The Bible’s story does not end by saying, “And the unrighteous were destroyed and exist no more.” Neither does it say, “And in the end all persons will be gathered into the love of God and be saved.” Rather, when God brings His story to a close, His people rejoice in endless bliss with Him on the new earth. But the wicked will endure never-ending torment in the lake of fire and be shut out of the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, which is the joyous dwelling place of God and His people forever.

We have no right to rewrite the biblical story. Rather, we must leave it to God to define what is just and unjust and what is commensurate with His being “all in all.” He does not leave us in doubt about hell because He loves sinners and wants them to believe the gospel in this life.

How kind and merciful of Him to include this invitation at the end of His story: “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price” (Rev. 22:17).

Source: http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/annihilation-or-eternal-punishment/

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Christmas is symbolic of one thing alone: The birth of Jesus Christ.

Don’t forget that Jesus is the reason for the season. Lets all celebrate his birthday today! I hope you all have a blessed Christmas!

#Christmas #holiday

When Jesus said 'slaves obey your slave owners' does that mean that Jesus advocated slavery

If you actually read about the relationship between a slave and his master, you will understand that it is most similar to an employer/employee relationship. The bible never advocated abusing the slave or treating them as second class... but the master took care of the slave as his own family in a sense.

I am a transgender woman. Do you find who I am identifying to be offensive to your religion? This is honest please answer.

I believe that God has made himself clear to us through His written Word, the bible. I believe that truth is not relative, but is absolute. I believe that God’s Truth is the absolute Truth, regardless if someone chooses to believe it or not. So according to the bible, it is very clear that we are all imperfect (Romans 3:10) and all have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Our sins are punishable by death (Romans 6:23), but Jesus came to earth to pay the penalty of our sins so that we may be justified by his sacrificial death on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21). Loving Jesus and following Him is the only means to forgiveness in the eyes of God. That means complete submission to Jesus. It means to abandon yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him (Matthew 16:24). Anything short of total and complete obedience to Jesus is unacceptable (Luke 18:18ff).

Yes, you may feel like you were born the wrong gender. Yes, you may feel like it is not fair. I assure you it is no different than someone who is born with the propensity to be selfish. It is no different than someone who is prone to fits of anger and rage. You know why? Because we are all born in sin. We are born imperfect. We all fall short of the glory of God. However, if you truly believe in Jesus, there is freedom from the old self. There is a renewal of the mind (Romans 12:2). You are not who you once were before you knew Jesus.

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” - 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

I do not hate you or dislike you one bit. I sympathize with you. I understand your feeling of incompleteness. I care about how you feel. And because I care, I will tell you that God finds sin offensive. Any and all types of sin. Unwillingness to die to your sinful passions and desires is offensive to God. I’m not picking on your struggles. Anyone who is unwilling to die to his/her own sinfulness and follow Jesus is an offense to God.

I hope you find this informative and I pray that you learn to love Jesus with all your heart and follow after Him with everything because I can promise you that is the most important decision you can ever make.

The bible says that God created the world, but the bible also says multiple times that the world is flat. Did God not know what the thing he created looked like?

“It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.” - Isaiah 40:22

“He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters At the boundary of light and darkness.” - Job 26:10

#God wins

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