Frequently Asked Questions

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God is a triune being, meaning that God is one being in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.   

 God's characteristics 

• Omnipotent: God is all-powerful and cannot become corrupt
• Omniscient: God knows everything
• Loving: God displays intense, unchanging love for all of creation.
• Just: God judges sin but also offers forgiveness.
• Truthful: God is the source of truth.
• Holy: God is perfect and never changes.

Jesus is the Son of God, fully human and fully God, and the Savior of the world. He is also known as Jesus Christ and Jesus of Nazareth.  

 Jesus's identity 

• Jesus is God in human flesh.
• Jesus is the physical manifestation of God the Father.
• Jesus is the mediator between God and humanity.
• Jesus is the Creator and absolute ruler over all creation.

Jesus's purpose

• Jesus came to take away the sins of the world. 
• Jesus reconciled the Father to humanity. 
• Jesus is the Prince of Peace who will usher in a time of blessing and bounty at the end of the age. 

Evidence for Jesus's identity

• John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" 
• John 10:30: "I and the Father are one" 
• John 8:58: "Before Abraham was born, I am!" 
• Colossians 2:9:  "In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" 

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,"  - Romans 3:23-24

After their miraculous release from the Philippian jail, Paul and Silas tell their repentant jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved”.  - Acts 16:31 Their words are one of many expressions of the underlying message of the whole Bible: God has provided salvation for the lost. Scripture is clear that all people need to be saved, and here are some reasons why that salvation is necessary: 

•  We need to be saved because we are enslaved to sin and to Satan. ~ “...all are under the power of sin” - Romans 3:9. In our natural state, we are held in Satan’s snare and bound by his will (2 Timothy 2:26). We need a Redeemer to liberate us. In Christ we “have been set free from sin” -  Romans 6:18.
• We need to be saved because our hearts are hardened by evil. ~  “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” - Jeremiah 17:9. The unsaved “are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts” -Ephesians 4:18. We need a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit to fix our hearts and align them with God’s will.
•  We need to be saved because we are at odds with God. ~ “The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God” -  Romans 8:7–8. We need Jesus, the Prince of Peace, to reconcile us to God and bring us into the family of God as adopted sons and daughters.
• We need to be saved because we are under God’s wrath - Romans 5:9-10 indicates that sin makes people God's enemies and deserving of his wrath. Without salvation, we stand condemned: “Whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” -  John 3:18.  
• We need to be saved because we are in danger of hell. ~ After death comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27), and, if we die without God’s salvation, we will meet the same fate as the rich man who lifted up his eyes “in Hades, being in torment”  - Luke 16:23. We need a Savior to rescue us from a fate literally worse than death.
• We need to be saved because we are spiritually dead. Before salvation, we are “dead in [our] sins”  - Colossians 2:13. Dead people can do nothing for themselves. We need resurrection. We need the life-giving power of Christ, who alone can conquer death.
  

When Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again,” He spoke of necessity (John 3:7). Being saved—receiving the new birth—is not just a nice idea or a divine suggestion. It is the deepest need of the human soul: “You must be born again.” 

The Bible plainly acknowledges the existence of evil in the world, depicting it as a real force that originates from human choices and the rebellion against God, not something directly created by God; it is often personified as Satan, and the Bible describes various forms of evil such as sin, violence, and malicious actions committed by humans. 

Key points about evil in the Bible:

• Not created by God: The Bible states that God did not create evil, but rather humans have the free will to choose evil through their actions. 
• Origin of evil: The "fall of man" in Genesis is often cited as the origin of evil, where Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, introducing sin and its consequences into the world. However, evil originated with "Lucifer", the fallen angel known as Satan.
• Satan's role:  In the Bible, Satan's fall from heaven is described in Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28, and Luke 10. The fall was caused by Satan's pride and desire to be worshiped like God. 

Why did Satan fall? 

• Pride: Satan became proud of his beauty and wisdom, and wanted to be worshiped like God
• Corruption: Satan's pride corrupted his wisdom and actions, and he became violent and deceitful
• Rebellion: Satan wanted to elevate himself above the angels and rule over them

What happened to Satan after he fell? 

• He was banished from heaven
• His name changed from Lucifer to Satan, which means "adversary"
• He became corrupt and his power was perverted.
• He tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

What did Jesus say about Satan's fall? 

• In Luke 10:18, Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven”

What happened to Satan after Adam and Eve's fall? 

• Satan is a powerful spiritual being who actively tempts humans towards evil. 
• Satan's destiny is to be bound in a pit during the 1000-year millennial kingdom of Christ.
• He will eventually be thrown into the lake of fire. 

Human responsibility: The Bible emphasizes that humans are responsible for their own choices and actions, including evil deeds. By salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, a believer is filled with the Holy Spirit and has the power to resist the temptations of the devil and overcome sin and evil. See scriptures:

• James 4:7
• 1 John 1:7

The meaning of life is to "glorify God," meaning to live a life that honors and brings praise to God as the Creator, essentially finding purpose in knowing and serving Him; this is often summarized as "to love God and love others." 

Key points about the biblical meaning of life:

• Central purpose: The primary goal of human existence is to bring glory to God. 
• Relationship with God: This is achieved by developing a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. 
• Living righteously: Following God's commands and living a moral life reflects this purpose. 
• Eternal perspective: The Bible emphasizes that life extends beyond this earthly existence, with the ultimate goal of experiencing eternal life with God. 

Your life does matter because you are created in God's image, making human life sacred and giving each person inherent worth; essentially, God designed you with purpose and intention, and your life is a gift from Him to be used to glorify Him, make a positive impact on the world and bring others to eternal life.

Key verses supporting this idea:

• Genesis 1:27: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." 
• Matthew 10:31: "Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." 
• Ephesians 2:10: "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." 

Key points to remember:

• Intrinsic value: Your life matters simply because you are human, created by God. 
• Purposeful creation: God did not create you by accident; He has a plan for your life. 
• Living for God: Your life should be used to reflect God's love and character in the world. By doing so, others may come to know God too. 

There is life after death through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bible also describes heaven and hell as places where people go after death. 

Life after death

• Resurrection: The resurrection of Christ makes it possible for people to live with him after death. When people are resurrected at the end of the age, their bodies and spirits are reunited, and their bodies are perfect and will never die again. 
• Heaven: For believers in Christ, life after death is eternal life in the Kingdom of God. 
• Hell: For unbelievers, life after death is eternity in the lake of fire.  However, God states that hell was not originally made for us!! 

Scripture passages

• 1 Corinthians 15: Paul explains the resurrection of Christ and how it makes life with Him possible after death. 
• 1 Thessalonians 4:14 Paul refers to deceased Christians as those who sleep in Jesus, using sleep as a metaphor for death. 
• John 11:11–14 Jesus uses the metaphor of sleep to describe his death and tells his disciples that Lazarus is dead. 
• Luke 23:42-43 Jesus tells a prisoner that he will be with Him in paradise. 
• Matthew 25:41  Jesus tells us that hell was prepared for the devil and his angels.