Click on a topic to go to that section. These are very short and concise answers to many of the questions people ask about the Christian faith. The "Articles" tab discusses some of these topics in greater detail.
Salvation
Forgiveness
Being Made Clean and Righteous
Union
Faith
The Law
The Person of Jesus Christ
Doctrine
Salvation
1. Why is Jesus Christ the only path to God?
Answer: God is righteous; you must be righteous as well to be in His family. Jesus Christ is the only One who can make you righteous; this is why He is your only path to God. Jesus makes you fully and forever righteous in your born again heart because He comes to live in you. When you trust Christ as Savior, God takes out your old sinful heart and replaces it with a brand new, clean heart filled with the Holy Spirit. This is what makes you righteous and gives you eternal life; this is what saves you.
2. How am I saved?
Answer: Salvation is a gift from of God. One way of understanding it is by knowing the different parts of salvation: [1] all of your sins were forgiven on the Cross of Jesus Christ except for one single sin, the eternal and unforgivable sin of unbelief; [2] when your unbelief turns to faith in Christ as Savior, that last remaining sin is forever resolved; because you now trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, God removes your old sinful spirit (a.k.a. "nature" or "heart") and replaces it with a brand new, clean heart; [3] since you are now a "clean vessel," the Holy Spirit has a place in you to live: He comes to live in your heart to make you literally righteous by His indwelling presence. It is Eternal Life now living in you that gives you eternal life; possessing eternal life and being "saved" are the same things.
Note: It is really not that important how you come to faith. What is important is that you know that God saved you; you cannot save yourself.
3. As a Christian, can I ever lose my salvation?
Answer: No, absolutely not. Your born again spirit is redeemed fully and forever, now joined as one to the Holy Spirit. You cannot sin in your new spirit because the Holy Spirit in you cannot sin (1 John 3:9). Therefore, there can never be a reason why you could lose your salvation. Only your born again spirit has been saved thus far; you will get a righteous body later. This is why your body - which has not yet been made righteous - goes to the grave when you die but your spirit - already made righteous - goes to be with the Lord forever. Romans 8:10 explains the present state of your body and your spirit.
4. Am I just a "sinner saved by grace"?
Answer: No. You were a sinner and you were saved by grace but, because of the Cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you are a now righteous saint, a child of God. Thus far, only your inner spirit has been redeemed and made righteous; you will get a new, righteous body later. You can still sin in your mortal flesh but you cannot sin in your born again spirit (see #3 above).
5. What is the difference between being "forgiven" and being "born again"?
Answer: Forgiveness and being "born again" are both elements of salvation but they are not the same thing. All personal sins of all people for all time were forgiven on the Cross except the unforgivable sin of unbelief in Christ as the only Savior. Both believers and unbelievers are forgiven, but unbelievers are not yet saved. Upon faith in Christ as Savior, God removes your old sinful spirit and replaces it with a brand new, clean heart. Now being a "clean vessel," the Holy Spirit comes to live in your new heart to make you literally righteous by His indwelling presence. You are righteous because the Righteous One has joined you as one in your spirit; you possess eternal life because Eternal Life now lives in your new heart. Being made righteous and possessing eternal life are what it means to be "born again," and that is what it means to be saved.
6. Is forgiveness the same thing as "salvation"?
Answer: No. All personal sins of all people for all time were forgiven and forgotten 2,000 years ago on the Cross of Jesus Christ. This is how God reconciled Himself to the world; in turn, people must reconcile themselves to God through faith in Christ as Savior since unbelief is the only sin that was not forgiven on the Cross. Forgiveness was necessary in order to be saved but being born again is what it means to be saved. Unbelief is the barrier that people place before God and His free offer of salvation. Only when you turn from unbelief to trust in Jesus Christ as Savior does God "save" you by removing your inner nature to sin - your old sinful nature. Then, He replaces your old heart with a new, clean heart filled with His Holy Spirit; this is what saves you. Therefore, the two issues in salvation are: [1] the single sin of unbelief and [2] the indwelling nature to sin that all people inherited from birth. (See 2 Corinthians 5:17-21.)
7. Is baptism necessary for salvation?
Answer: Yes and no. You are baptized into Christ by the Holy Spirit when God saves you; in other words, you are joined to Christ as one spirit in you born again heart. This happens to all believers and this baptism is what saves you. Eternal Life is now living in you; this is why you possess eternal life. The Righteous One is now living in you; this is why you are righteous in your new heart. Physical baptism is a symbol of the believer dying with Christ, being buried with Christ and being raised with Christ to a new life in the spirit. Physical baptism is not what saves you and, therefore, is not required for salvation; it is the spiritual baptism of the Holy Spirit that is necessary for salvation. Water baptism is a teaching tool; therefore, immersion gives a better picture of these truths than any other form of baptism. All believers should be baptized if they are able; but it is a symbolic representation of spiritual realities.
Forgiveness
8. Do I have to forgive others in order for God to forgive me?
Answer: No. That sounds wrong but it is not; it is the nature of grace. Forgiving others and loving them is one of the most important truths in the Bible; it is an expression of the indwelling life of Christ being lived out in a believer. However, if God's forgiveness is based on something you do, then salvation is based on works, not grace. Works is human self effort. Grace is the work of God; you receive what God has accomplished. When Jesus taught that the Father would not forgive unless the person forgives (Matthew 6:15, Mark 11:26), He was teaching under Law to the Jews. Jesus was born under the Mosaic Law and He lived under the Law. Fulfilling the Law by His sinless life was the first of the three reasons that Jesus came to this earth; (the Cross and resurrection were the other two reasons). By fulfilling the Hebrew Law, Jesus was able to replace the Law with Himself. Now, both righteousness and holy living are realized through Jesus Christ, not through trying (and failing) to keep the Law. The Hebrew Law was external, based on works (human self effort); grace is internal based on the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
So, here is why this wrong sounding answer is actually correct: only your inner born again heart has been redeemed and made righteous thus far; your outer mortal flesh has not yet been redeemed and can still sin. Not forgiving others comes from your mortal flesh, never from your new, righteous heart. Unforgiveness is an indication that you are not living by faith. Even so, that does not override grace. God already has forgiven you completely; that can never change even if you do not forgive others. Trying to impose law is never the answer because law causes sin to increase, not decrease; 1 Corinthians 15:56b says "... the power of sin is the Law."
9. Do I have to "receive the gift" of God's forgiveness by faith before I am forgiven?
Answer: No. The forgiveness of personal sins was given by God to all people; only the single, eternal and unforgivable sin of unbelief in Christ as Savior was not forgiven on the Cross. It is the "gift of righteousness," not the gift of forgiveness, that you must receive through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior (Romans 5:17).
10. Is God mad at me when I sin?
Answer: No. Christ already received the wrath of God for each and every sin any person ever committed or ever will commit; thus, your sins are paid for and "remembered no more" (Hebrews 8:12, Hebrew 10:17. Only the eternal sin of unbelief was not forgiven on the Cross. Therefore, the coming judgment and wrath of God is related to the rejection of Christ as Savior.
11. Do I need to confess my sins to get back into "fellowship" with God?
Answer: No. Confessing sins is based on the misinterpretation of 1 John 1:9. The teaching says that you will lose your "fellowship" with God if you do not confess your sins. But in fact, the entire first chapter of I John was a declaration of the Gospel to the Jews of the Apostle John's day. The word "fellowship" is referring to salvation, not whether or not God is displeased with you. Although it is a widely practiced ritual, confessing sins is seeking forgiveness; this inadvertently is denying the truth that God already forgave your sins on the Cross. Therefore, even though you are not intending to do you, you are denying the work of Christ by confessing your sins. Religion dwells on sin; Biblical faith, on the other, dwells on righteousness. And, holy living can be realized only by the power of the Jesus Christ who lives in your born again heart.
12. Does God withdraw from me when I sin?
Answer: No. You are in perfect union with Jesus Christ all the time in your born again spirit. Your new, inner heart is righteous even though your outer mortal flesh is still dead because of sin (Romans 8:10). This is why you live by faith since you cannot live righteously by your own human strength.
13. What happens if I have ongoing sin in my life?
Answer: As a Christian, you are perfectly righteous in your redeemed inner spirit, joined as one to the Holy Spirit; you cannot sin in your new spirit because the Holy Spirit in you cannot sin (1 John 3:9). Equally true, you are not righteous in your yet-to-be-redeemed and still-able-to-sin mortal body. To avoid sinning, which is always rooted in your mortal flesh, follow in faith the life that Jesus Christ is living out through you. Self-control, the ability to not sin, is a fruit of the Spirit, not a strength of your mortal flesh (Galatians 5:22-23). Living by faith is the way to prevent ongoing sin in your life.
Being Made Clean and Righteous
14. How can I be "clean" when I have sin in my life?
Answer: You are clean in your inner, born again spirit; that is the part of you that God has redeemed thus far. But, your outer mortal flesh is still dead because of sin, awaiting a future redemption. This is normal. Your defense against sinning in your mortal flesh is to follow Christ in faith. The life of a believer is all about living righteously and doing good works; this can be realized only as Jesus Christ lives out His life in you and does His good works through you.
15. What is Christian holiness?
Answer: All true believers in Jesus Christ are holy in their redeemed spirit but still dead because of sin in their mortal flesh. Christian holiness refers to your redeemed spirit; it is fully righteous all the time. See Romans 8:10.
16. What does the Bible mean when it says that I am a "new creation"?
Answer: It means that you are a brand new creature in your born again spirit. As a believer in Christ as Savior, you have already been redeemed in your inner spirit. You will be redeemed in your mortal body in the future. This second "half" of your redemption will happen automatically when Christ returns to this earth. In the meantime, you live by faith.
17. Am I merely "credited" with Christ's righteousness, or is it something more?
Answer: It is something much more; you are given Christ's righteousness as a gift by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:17; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17). It was on the Cross that you were forgiven and it is upon faith in Christ as Savior that you are made clean and righteous. God removes your old sinful nature and replaces it with a brand new, clean spirit. Then, the Holy Spirit, comes to live in you and joins as one to you in your new heart. You become a "partaker" in the divine nature because God Himself joins as one with you in your new spirit. If you were merely credited, or imputed, with Christ's righteousness, you would still be a sinner and not yet saved.
18. Why did Jesus say that the least in the Kingdom is greater than John the Baptist?
Answer: John, the forerunner of Jesus Christ, was the greatest, most righteous man who had ever lived up until that time. Yet, He was not sinless. Believers in Christ have the Holy Spirit joined as one with them because the Cross and resurrection defeated sin and death. As a believer you are fully righteous in your born again; therefore, you are greater than the most righteous person who lived under the Mosaic Law.
19. Are Christians righteous?
Answer: Yes. As a Christian you are righteous because the Holy Spirit lives in you and is joined as one with you in spirit. You are literally righteous; you do not merely have Christ's righteousness credited to you. Christ gave you the gift of righteousness by virtue of His indwelling presence.
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Union
20. As a Christian, who lives in me; is it the Holy Spirit or is it Christ.
Answer: Saying that Christ lives in you and saying that the Holy Spirit lives in you is saying the exact same thing. Read Romans 8:9-11 to see how the Bible uses these terms interchangeably. Romans 8:9-11
21. What is "flesh"?
Answer: The word "flesh" is the source of much confusion and should be carefully understood in its proper context. In the New Testament, the word "flesh" is used in three different ways: [1] referring to the physical body, [2] referring to your humanness (your mortal body and mortal thoughts and emotions) and [3] referring to your old sinful spirit or nature. In the book of Romans, "flesh" is used in all three ways but in the most critical verses Paul is always referring to your former state as an unbeliever, that is, your old "sinful spirit."
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Faith
22. How can I get more faith?
Answer: In one sense, you cannot because God gives to each person faith. But, as the Holy Spirit teaches you, you grow in your faith.
23. What is submission?
Answer: Almost every issue regarding submission will fade away when you understand two critical truths: [1] as a believer, your life is not your own. Jesus lives in you and it is His life to live; you are always in a position of submission and, if not, your life is in disharmony; and [2] every Christian marriage is a "picture" of Christ and the Church - the husband pictures Christ as he gives himself up for his wife, and the wife pictures the Church as she submits to her Lord and king. Unless you can love these concepts on a spiritual level, you will have conflict at the human level.
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The Law
24. Are we under the Ten Commandments?
Answer: No. The Old Covenant Law was given only to the children of Israel. It required works (human self-effort) to fulfill it, and no one was able to live under it perfectly. So, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live under the Law and live under it sinlessly. Instead of you trying (and failing) to live under the Law, Jesus did it for you. Upon fulfilling the Law, Jesus ended the Law and replaced it with Himself. Now, being made righteous and living a holy life are realized through Jesus Christ, not through trying to keep the Law. God moved His righteousness from the "external" Law into the hearts of those who trust Him. And, God gave His Holy Spirit to be the power to live a life pleasing to Him. Jesus Christ literally lives in you and lives out His righteous life through you; you follow Him in faith. The Bible says that the Mosaic Law is obsolete (Hebrews 8:13), and is now called the "ministry of death" and "condemnation" (2 Corinthians 3:7,9) since no one was ever able to fulfill the Law through their own human strength.
25. Are we under any Law of God?
Answer: No. The spirit of the Law, its representation of God's holiness, is eternal. But the doing of the Law was replaced 2,000 years ago by Jesus Christ. The Law under the Old Covenant was external, powered and accomplished by human self-effort. The "Law" under the New Covenant is internal, powered and accomplished by the spiritual power of Jesus Christ Himself. The Old was imperfect because of human weakness. The New is perfect because of Jesus Christ.
Law = works = human self-effort
Grace = the power of the Holy Spirit in you
26. What about tithing?
Answer: Tithing has never been a New Covenant practice and should never be part of the believer's new life in the Spirit. The modern practice of tithing did not begin until around 700 years after Jesus Christ lived on the earth. None of the Apostles taught tithing. The reason for this is that tithing is a human work (human self-effort) performed in the energy of the mortal flesh. The practice of giving, along with every other "gold, silver, precious stone" activity, comes Jesus Christ living inside of you. As the Apostle Paul said, "... it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me ..."
27. What about fasting?
Answer: Fasting can be confusing. It mostly died out after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There are only 3 recorded references to it (Acts 13:2; 14:26; 27:9). None of these are specific instructions to fast; these verses are simply recording events as they occurred. Something Jesus said may help you answer this question:
Matthew 9:14-15 Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?" [15] And Jesus said to them, "The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
The bridegroom lives in your born again heart. Is there a reason to mourn?
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The Person of Jesus Christ
28. How did Jesus "empty" Himself?
Answer: Jesus, the eternal and "unoriginated" God, the Creator. He emptied Himself to live fully as a human during His time on the earth. By becoming fully man, Jesus was able to understand the difficulties and temptations that you are going through and He is sympathetic to your weaknesses. Being fully human also allowed Jesus to be tempted, die on the Cross and "to be sin" on your behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus also lived by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit that He received at His baptism. This is the exact same Holy Spirit that you received when God saved you; He is your power to live a righteous life through faith. See John 5:19,30; John 8:28; John 14:10-11; Matthew 12:18,28.
29. In what way was Jesus in union with the Father?
Answer: Jesus was in union with His Father through the Holy Spirit that He received at His baptism. You are in union with Jesus Christ in the very same way through the Holy Spirit you received when God saved you.
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Doctrine
30. Is the "canon" of Scripture closed? Is it the complete revelation of God?
Answer: The canonization of Scripture was a human designation, but an excellent one. If there are other books written by the Apostles or early disciples that were not included in the Bible, it really does not matter. There is plenty of revelation in the books that make up the 66 books of the Bible to give you everything you need to know now about God and your relationship with Him. There is absolutely nothing in the existing Bible to indicate that anyone has the authority to teach new revelation. It is the Holy Spirit alone who opens your eyes to His truth in the Scriptures, and in life.
31. Is the debate between creation and evolution important?
Answer: No. Debates among believers causes division; debates with unbelievers push them away from God. The three primary characteristics of believers are [1] loving others, [2] sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ and [3] living by indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. Believers are the hands and feet of Jesus in the world today; God has given believers the ministry of reconciliation. Anything that interferes with this ministry cannot be from God. See 2 Corinthians 5, especially verses 18-21.
32. Is the debate between "predestination" and "free will" important?
Answer: No, it is destructive. The fatal flaw on both sides of this argument is that each side concludes, "If your position is correct, that would mean that God is "unfair"; this conclusion is impossible.
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