FAQs
Below are some frequently asked
questions or statements that I have heard. If you have any
questions not mentioned here please feel free to email me @ daniel@conneautministries.com.
"Do you think that
Christians are better than non-Christians?"
The Christian is no better than a
non-Christian, but he is infinitely better off. It is like two men
on a plane, one of whom is wearing a parachute while the other is
not. Neither is better than the other, but the man with the
parachute is certainly better off than the man who is not wearing a
parachute. The difference will be seen when they jump from the plane
at 20,000 feet.
Jesus warned that if we "jump" into
death without Him, we would perish. Even harsher than the law of
gravity is the Law of an infinitely holy and just Creator. Scripture
states that sinners are God’s enemy (Romans 5:10) and that "it is a
fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews
10:31).
Why is
Christianity better than other religions?"
In all major religions,
the followers strive to rid themselves of sin through various
practices. They may pray in a prescribed way, do various good works,
deny themselves legitimate pleasure, follow dietary restrictions,
lie on beds of nails, etc. The uniqueness of Jesus is shown in His
statement, "The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins." No
other religious leader has ever made this claim. Jesus Christ alone
can wash away every sin anyone has ever committed, be-cause of what
He did on the cross. By paying the penalty for our sin, He can
release us from the torture of guilt. We cannot do anything in the
way of religious works to wash away our sins. Forgiveness is a free
gift of God (Ephesians 2:8,9).
"Do you sin, as
a Christian?"
If a Christian sins, it is against
his will. One who is regenerate falls rather than dives into sin; he
resists rather than embraces it. Any dead fish can float downstream.
It takes a live one to swim against the flow. Christians still
experience temptations and can sometimes fall into sin, but they are
no longer slaves to sin (Romans 6:6). They have God’s Holy Spirit
within them to help them say no to temptation, and to convict their
conscience of wrongdoing when they do sin.
"My God would
never create hell."
Those who say that are right: their "god"
would never create hell, because he couldn’t. He doesn’t exist. He is a
figment of their imagination, a god they have created to suit
themselves. It’s called "idolatry," and it’s the oldest sin in the Book. Idolaters
will not inherit the kingdom of God. The one true God, however,
could and did create hell for those who reject His mercy. They
will reap His just wrath.
"The church is
full of hypocrites."
Hypocrites may show up at a church
building every Sunday, but there are no hypocrites in the Church
(Christ’s body). Hypocrite comes from the Greek word for "actor," or
pretender. Hypocrisy is "the practice of professing beliefs,
feelings, or virtues that one does not hold."
The Church is made up of true
believers; hypocrites are "pretenders" who sit among God’s people.
God knows those who love Him, and the Bible warns that He will sort
out the true converts from the false on the Day of Judgment. All
hypocrites will end up in hell (Matthew 24:51).
"Why is there
suffering? That proves there is no ‘loving’
God."
Study the soil for a moment.
It naturally produces weeds. No one plants them; no one waters them.
They even stubbornly push through cracks of a dry sidewalk. Millions
of useless weeds sprout like there’s no tomorrow, strangling our
crops and ruining our lawns. Pull them out by the roots, and there
will be more tomorrow. They are nothing but a curse!
Consider how much of the
earth is uninhabitable. There are millions of square miles of barren
deserts in Africa and other parts of the world. Most of Australia is
nothing but miles and miles of useless desolate land. Not only that,
but the earth is constantly shaken with massive earthquakes. Its
shores are lashed with hurricanes; tornadoes rip through creation
with incredible fury; devastating floods soak the land; and terrible
droughts parch the soil. Sharks, tigers, lions, snakes, spiders, and
disease-carrying mosquitoes attack humanity and suck its life’s
blood.
The earth’s inhabitants are afflicted with disease, pain,
suffering, and death. Think of how many people are plagued with
cancer, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, emphysema,
Parkinson’s, and a number of other debilitating illnesses. Consider
all the children with leukemia, or people born with crippling
diseases or without the mental capability to even feed themselves.
All these things should convince thinking minds that something is
radically wrong. Did God blow it when He created humanity? What sort
of tyrant must our Creator be if this was His master plan?
Sadly, many use the issue of
suffering as an excuse to reject any thought of God, when its
existence is the very reason we should accept Him. Suffering stands
as terrible testimony to the truth of the explanation given by the
Word of God. But how can we know that the Bible is true? Simply by
studying the prophecies of Matthew 24, Luke 21, and 2 Timothy 3. A
few minutes of openhearted inspection will convince any honest
skeptic that this is no ordinary book. It is the supernatural
testament of our Creator about why there is suffering...and what we
can do about it.
The Bible tells us that God cursed
the earth because of Adam’s transgression. Weeds are a curse. So is
disease. Sin and suffering cannot be separated. The Scriptures
inform us that we live in a fallen creation. In the beginning, God
created man perfect, and he lived in a perfect world without
suffering. It was heaven on earth. When sin came into the world,
death and misery came with it. Those who understand the message of
Holy Scripture eagerly await a new heaven and a new earth "wherein
dwells righteous-ness." In that coming Kingdom there will be no more
pain, suffering, disease, or death. We are told that no eye has ever
seen, nor has any ear heard, neither has any man’s mind ever
imagined the wonderful things that God has in store for those who
love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Think for a moment what it would be
like if food grew with the fervor of weeds. Consider how wonderful
it would be if the deserts became incredibly fertile, if creation
stopped devouring humanity. Imagine if the weather worked for us
instead of against us, if disease completely disappeared, if pain
was a thing of the past, if death was no more.
The dilemma is that we are like a
child whose insatiable appetite for chocolate has caused his face to
break out with ugly sores. He looks in the mirror and sees a sight
that makes him depressed. But instead of giving up his beloved
chocolate, he consoles himself by stuffing more into his mouth. Yet,
the source of his pleasure is actually the cause of his suffering.
The whole face of the earth is nothing but ugly sores of suffering.
Everywhere we look we see unspeakable pain. But instead of believing
God’s explanation and asking Him to forgive us and change our
appetite, we run deeper into sin’s sweet embrace. There we find
solace in its temporal pleasures, thus intensifying our pain, both
in this life and in the life to come.
"Judge not lest
you be judged. You therefore have no right to judge me when it comes
to my sins!"
The world often takes this
verse out of context and uses it to accuse Christians of being
"judgmental" when they speak of sin. In the context of the verse
Jesus is telling His disciples not to judge one another, something
the Bible condemns (Romans 14:10; James 4:11). In Luke 6:41,42 He
speaks of seeing a speck in a brother’s eye. In John 7:24 He said,
"Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous
judgment." If someone steals, lies, commits adultery or murder,
etc., the Christian can make a (righteous) moral judgment and say
that the actions were morally wrong, and that these sins will have
eternal consequences. Chuck Colson said, "True tolerance is not a
total lack of judgment. It’s knowing what should be tolerated—and
refusing to tolerate that which shouldn’t."
"I’m as good as
any Christian!"
A Christian, by himself, isn’t good. Jesus said that only God
is good. The only "goodness," or righteousness, that the believer
has comes from Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9). The
Bible tells us that, without Christ, man is corrupt and filthy; "there
is none that does good, no, not one" (Psalm 14:3).
"I’m doing fine. I don’t
need God."
Many people feel this way because of the
modern gospel message. It says that Jesus will help their marriage,
remove their drug problem, fill the emptiness in their heart, give
them peace and joy, etc. In doing so, it restricts the gospel’s
field of influence. If the message of the cross is for people who
have bad marriages, are lonely, and have problems, those who are
happy won’t see their need for the Savior.
In truth, the forgiveness of God in
Jesus Christ if for people with bad marriages and people with good
marriages. It is for the happy and the sad. It is for people with
problems and for those without problems. It is for those who are
miserable in their sins, and for those who are enjoying the
pleasures of sin for a season. Those who think they are doing fine
need to be confronted with a holy Law that they have violated a
multitude of times. Then they will see themselves through the eyes
of the Judge of the Universe and will flee to the Savior.
"Didn’t men write
the Bible?"
Absolutely. When you write a letter, do
you write the letter, or does the pen? Obviously you do; the pen is
merely the instrument you use. God used men as instruments to write
His "letter" to humanity. They ranged from kings to common
fishermen, but the 66 books of the Bible were all given by
inspiration of God. Proof that this Book is supernatural can been
seen with a quick study of its prophecies.
"You are using scare
tactics by talking about hell and Judgment Day."
In the late 1980s, TV commercials in the
U.S. asked, "What goes through the mind of a driver who is not
wearing a seat belt in a head- n collision?" Then they showed a
crash dummy having its head crushed by a steering wheel in a
collision, and said, "The steering wheel!" Those were scare tactics,
but no one complained because they were legitimate scare tactics.
That’s what happens in a head-on collision if you are foolish enough
to not put on a seat belt. To warn of hell is fearful, but it is
absolutely legitimate, because the Bible says that it is a fearful
thing for a sinner to fall into the hands of the living God.
"It’s intolerant to
say that Jesus is the only way to God!"
Jesus is the One who said that He is the
only way to the Father. For Christians to say that there are other
ways to find peace with God is to bear false testimony. In one
sweeping statement, Jesus discards all other religions as a means of
finding forgiveness of sins. This agrees with other Scriptures:
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12),
and "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5).
"If I submit to God,
I’ll just become a puppet!"
"A brilliant young man questioned
Dr. Henrietta Mears about surrendering his life to God. He was
convinced that becoming a Christian would mean the destruction of
his personality, that he’d be altered in some strange way, and that
he’d lose control of his own mind. He feared becoming a mere puppet
in God’s hands.
"So Miss Mears asked him to watch
as she turned on a lamp. One moment it was dark, then she turned on
the switch. She explained, ‘The lamp surrendered itself to the
electric current and light has filled the room. The lamp didn’t
destroy its personality when it surrendered to the current. On the
contrary—the very thing happened for which the lamp was created: it
gave light.’"
"Man is the master
of his own destiny!"
If man is in total control of his
future, then he should at least be in control of his own body.
Instead, he is subject to involuntary yawning, sneezing, breathing,
swallowing, sleeping, salivating, dreaming, blinking, and thinking.
He can’t even control hair and nail growth. He automatically does
these things, irrespective of his will. God has set his body in
motion and there is little he can do about it. He also has minimal
control over his daily bodily functions. His kidneys, bladder,
intestines, heart, liver, lungs, etc., work independently of his
will. It is ludicrous to say that man controls his future when he
has trouble predicting the stock market, political outcomes,
earthquakes, and even the weather, let alone having control over
these things.
"I made a
commitment, but nothing happened."
Some people don’t get past "square one"
because they trust in their feelings rather than God. His promises
are true, despite our feelings. If I make a promise to my wife, that
promise is true whether she is feeling happy or sad. If she doubts
my word, then she brings a slur to my integrity. Anyone who
genuinely repents and trusts in Christ will be saved. The Bible
makes this promise: "He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he
it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my
Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him" [John
14:21]. There’s the promise, and there’s the condition. Any person
who loves and obeys Jesus will begin a supernatural relationship
with Him and the Father. He said, "And this is life eternal, that
they might know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you
have sent" (John 17:3).
That doesn’t mean you will hear voices
or see visions. God will instead make you a new person from within.
He will send His Spirit to live within you. You will have a new
heart with new desires. You will suddenly become conscious of God
and His creation. The Bible will open up to you and become a living
Word, and you will have an inner witness that you are saved, that
your name is written in heaven, and that death has lost its sting (1
John 5:10–12).
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