Frequently, you’ll hear people ask the above question. Well, the Bible specifically tells us that everyone can know of God by what He has created and revealed to us. If people choose not to believe in God, they are without excuse!
Psalm 19:1-4
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
Titus 2:11
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
Romans 1:20
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Romans 15:21 & Isaiah 52:15
“Rather, as it is written: ‘Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.’” (Romans references this quote from Isaiah.)
We will be held accountable to that amount of information to which we have been exposed. As listed in the above verses, when you refuse God to whatever degree that He has shown Himself to you, then you are “without excuse.” It is not uncommon for people from other cultures, who have never even read the Bible, to claim visitations from Jesus in their dreams to be informed of the Gospel. If someone will be receptive, He will find a way. NOBODY will ever accidentally spend eternity in the Lake of Fire!
ALL people have the opportunity, many just refuse to believe it. You cannot pick and choose your scripture. It’s all or none. Why would a thinking person believe anything from a book that they suspect to contain errors? If you don’t believe it all, then you may as well close the Book!
This time of year, so many people see the depiction of the Baby in a manger and celebrate Jesus Christ’s birth. But, have you ever given thought to where He was prior to being born in the manger?
As the Son of God, He didn’t just begin to exist at that point in the account. The title “Son of God” doesn’t mean that He was God’s baby son, who had just been created, in the sense that we people would have a son. In the era which the Bible was written, having the term “Son of (someone)” applied to you, could mean that you weren’t necessarily the physical son of that person, but that you shared the same characteristics or attributes with that individual. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is an eternal being and a part of something wholly unique apart from our realm of experience. The Bible says that this was actually God, stepping down into our timeline to take on the form of human flesh to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, which is live a life free from sin, so that He could offer Himself as a sacrifice to die on the cross on our behalf and take the punishment we deserve, if only we’ll accept His free gift of Grace. What makes it so hard for many people is that they think THEY have to do something to work their way into Heaven. There is no way to do it on our own, so we must get over ourselves (and “religion”) to understand that it has already been done for us, if we’ll just receive what He has already done on the cross for us!
Jesus Christ, God the Son, is part of an entity called the Trinity: Father, Son & Holy Spirit. It’s a hard concept to grasp, as it is unknown in our created state. Remember, what we’re describing is the creation trying to understand the Creator. In the Bible, which has never been proven to have any errors, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all called God, individually. They have distinct roles and are distinct persons, yet they are all the same one God.
Here is the best parallel that I’ve ever heard to describe the Trinity: We’ll start with a bowl of water. From that water inside the bowl, you can take some of the water and freeze it and it will become ice. You can take some of the water and heat it and it will become vapor. So, the same water now exists in three different forms (liquid, ice and vapor) and it can do three different things, yet it is still the same water. So, for this analogy, you could say the Father is liquid, the Son is ice and the Holy Spirit is vapor, yet they are all still the same God, or water in this description.
There are multiple instances in the Old Testament, where the Son of God came down and interacted with people. These are called Christophanies, which are pre-incarnate (before He became the Baby Jesus in the manger) visitations from God the Son to the people on Earth. According to Scripture, the eternal Son of God was the Creator of the universe. (John 1:3, Colossians 1:16 & Hebrews 1:2) So, “Baby Jesus” was obviously very busy before being born in Bethlehem, over 2,000 years ago.
The greatest gift is not the one that you’ll find under your Christmas tree, waiting to be opened. It’s one that has already found you and is available to anyone who humbles themself and agrees to accept it. This gift is already open: His arms were stretched out on the cross just for you. Receive your true gift this Christmas!
There has been an ongoing debate as to whether a person can lose their salvation, once they’ve truly been saved. Good intentioned people are on both sides of the fence. However, one view can be used to control, they other can be used to assure.
If you’re a believer and you don’t believe that you”re secure, what must you do? How will you ever know if you’ve been good enough?
Those who teach that a person can lose their salvation like to refer to Hebrews 6:4-6, where it says “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.”
Enlightened, tasted and shared are not the same as salvation. (How many people do you think sit in a church service every Sunday and are not saved?) Also, those verses only address repentance, not salvation. Another thing to consider, where it says “if they fall away.” Do these proponents think that any of Jesus’ 12 Apostles are safe? In Mark 14:27, it says that all 12 will fall away!
Read through Ephesians 1:13-14 ”And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.”
Ephesians 4;30 ”And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
Romans 8:1 ”Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 11:29 “for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.”
2 Corinthians 5:5 says ”Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
In John10:27-30, Jesus says that those who believe are His sheep and states twice that no one can snatch them from His hands.
In Revelation 3:8, Jesus says “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.”
Remember Satan’s question to Eve in the Garden of Eden: “Did God really say…?” Why would you want to listen to those who try to put a question mark where God has put a period? On the cross, Christ said, “It is finished.” (John 19:30)
Did God choose people or do people choose Him? The answer is, of course, “Yes!”
Some Christian leaders teach that God chose only some people for salvation and if you’re not one of the chosen, there is nothing you can do about it. Let’s consider what the Bible actually says, along with the implications if the previous sentence were true.
The most well known salvation verse is John 3:16, which says “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Notice this doesn’t say “…that whoever He chose…” Verse 18 goes on to say, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” The “whoever” sure sounds like an open invitation to whoever. The Book of Life is mentioned 8 times in the Bible. Never does it mention people being added to the Book, it only references people being blotted out…a.k.a. the “whoever does not” crowd. In order to be blotted out, you must have first been in the Book!
So, what does that mean? The Apostle Peter talks about those “…who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…” in 1 Peter 1:2. We read in Ephesians 1:11 “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will…” This might seem to indicate that God is picking and choosing, until we read Romans 8:29 “For those God foreknew he also predestined…”
Some teach that this “foreknowledge” actually just means God’s love, not his foreknowledge. This likely comes from Deuteronomy 7:6-8 where it says that God has chosen a special people because He loved them. (Do you think it is because this group stuck to the Ten Commandments so perfectly or because Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, would be born through this group of people?) Those verses are speaking about Israel! The Roman Catholic Church claims they have replaced Israel as the recipient of God’s promises. Likewise, most Calvinists, who take a similar “Reformed” position, claim that Israel has been replaced by the Protestant church. Both can’t be correct, but both can be wrong. These groups would be well served to do a simple word search for “everlasting covenant” in the Bible, as it relates to the promises God made to the actual nation of Israel. Jeremiah 31:37 makes it very clear that God’s promises to Israel remain valid and verse 36 makes it very clear that He is talking about the actual nation of Israel, not a substitutionary people.
Here’s an example of what foreknowledge looks like: Imagine a horizontal timeline with the past on the left, the future on the right and the present somewhere in between the two. If you existed on that line, you could only see the present and you could know about the past. You might even be able to guess about the future. However, if you exist outside of that horizontal line, you can look at it and see all parts of the line at the same time. Existence on the line would be us people, while outside of the line is God, who is outside of time, space and matter, because He actually created everything.
This is how prophecy is possible: it is not just fortune telling, which indicates what one thinks may happen. It is seeing something as having already happened, so that one can speak about it with confidence. Remember 2 Peter 3:8 says “…With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” This is why so many times in the Bible, God references future events in the past tense, as if they have already happened. He is not bound by our realm of chronological time. This is also why God could see into our future (His foreknowledge) and know who would accept Him and who would reject Him.
Look at the example of Jacob and Esau: Malachi 1:2-3 says “‘I have loved you,’ says the LORD. ’But you ask, `How have you loved us?’ ‘Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?’ the LORD says. ‘Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated…’” Did God hate Esau randomly or was it because he foreknew what Esau would be and do? It is because He foreknew Esau’s future and was able to make that statement, based upon Esau’s actions and heart. He didn’t just randomly love Jacob and hate Esau. Romans 9:11-13 expands on this: “Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad–in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls–she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ Just as it is written: ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’” God foreknew what would happen BEFORE the twins were even born. Hebrews 12:16 tells us more about Esau: ”See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.” God knew that Esau would never come to Him, because in His foreknowledge, He could see Esau’s future.
Also, consider Judas Iscariot: John13:27 tells us that “As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.” He was not just demon-possessed, he was actually Satan-possessed! John 17:12 calls Judas “the one doomed to destruction.” (By the way, this term is used only one other time in scripture and that is in reference to the Anti-Christ in 2 Thessalonians 2:3.) Do you think God doomed Judas for destruction or was God simply aware that Judas would doom himself by his own actions?
God wants ALL of us to choose Him, as indicated in 1 Timothy 2:3-4 “…God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” Hell was not created for people. Hell was created for the devil and his fallen angels, according to Matthew 25:41, which says “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” People choose to go there on their own by rejecting Jesus Christ.
Revelation 3:20 says “…If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Ephesians 6:9 tells us “…he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.” God identifies those of us who have already chosen Him in our future. From our perspective, He identifies those of us who will choose Him.
If it were true that some people were selected to be saved and others were not, then how would you truly know to which group you belong? The danger of this teaching is that it can (and should) leave a question in the mind of the believer as to if you are really saved. If you think that you are saved, how would you know for sure that God really chose you, if you held to the selective view of predestination?
There is only one path to salvation, but it is open to all. Revelation 22:17 confirms “Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” Notice that it doesn’t say, “only those I chose,” but it says “whoever.” Also, 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that God “…is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
Romans 3:22-24 “…righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 10:9 says ”…if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” God does not leave anything vague relative to Salvation. A person is saved by the BELIEF that the Creator God came to Earth and took on human form, in order to take the burden of ALL humanity’s sin upon Himself. He died for ALL of us and was resurrected, so that ALL who believe can spend eternity in Glory with Him. Maranatha!
Ross is my brother-in-law, who entered eternity on April 8, 2010. He provided unsurpassed joy to my sister, for which I am eternally grateful!
“Away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8)
He was saved, or “born-again,” sometime after Christmas, 2009, and prior to his baptism on February 28, 2010. For those who don’t speak “Christian-ese,” this means that he abandoned the common belief in a generic god and embraced a personal relationship with the one and only true living God, Jesus Christ, our Creator. This fact provided joy in the midst of intense sorrow, as he is a great man, who is sorely missed. Yet, we have the assurance that those of us who are saved, will be reunited with him in eternity.
It’s easy for people to merely SAY that they are Christians. It’s something completely different for people to actually DISPLAY that they are Christians. I’d like to share the below videos with the world as to what it looks like for someone to DISPLAY the joy, which accompanies true salvation and was visible on Ross’ face after he was baptized.
As one of his relatives said while walking past the casket for the last time, “See you later, Ross Allen.” I love you!
Ross attended Life Community Church in Hilliard, Ohio. Below are two recent sermons on dealing with loss and suffering. I don’t know if Ross ever heard the first one, as it was presented before he began attending, but is available online. The second one was presented on the third day after Ross was with Christ.
As new year’s resolutions come and go, so many people get stressed, depressed and confused, while spending a huge amount of time trying to figure out the will of God for their life. An easier solution would be to just read God’s Word:
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
In case you missed it: rejoice, pray a lot & be thankful, no matter what the situation. Even if it’s not pleasant, just remember that it could always be worse. Remember, every season will pass.
When it comes right down to it, a belief in God is made or denied based upon where you stand on the issue of Creation vs. Evolution. They are incompatible and these are the only 2 choices: We were either created or else we evolved.
If you believe we were created, an investigation should take place, in order to find out who created you and what, if anything, they have to tell you. If you believe we evolved, is your decision based upon a thorough analysis of the known facts or do you just blindly accept the evolutionary theory preached by the majority of schools, universities, media and institutions?
You’ve probably heard it said that this is a conflict between science and religion. It is actually a conflict between those who have a secular/humanistic worldview and those with a Biblical worldview. (Read the Goo-To-You page of this site for an explanation of operational vs. origins science.) There are educated scientists on both sides of the issue.
Why is there such a reluctance from the evolutionary scientists to allow a legitimate alternate view to be taught side-by-side, if not for the fact that it would expose the inadequacies of evolutionary theory? People must have both sides of the story, in order to make an educated decision as to which belief is more logical and consistent with the known facts. “Expelled” was an excellent documentary released in 2008, by Ben Stein, exposing those who zealously oppose your ability to even consider creation.
Over much time, increased scientific knowledge has revealed tremendous problems with Darwin’s 150 year old theory. If given an honest evaluation, these discoveries actually make evolution an impossibility.
Please take the time and look into it, so that whatever decision you choose, you will have made an informed decision – not based upon what you’ve been told, but by what you have discovered! If it ends out that God makes more sense than Darwin, don’t just create a “god” that you think should exist – take the time and get to know the real God from the Bible, Jesus Christ.
