Why would God Punish Me, I am a Good person?

First of all, we need to define the word "Good". The dictionary defines "good" as being morally excellent. Can you be described by others as morally excellent?

Another thing we need to determine is, the standard of "good" God is going to judge us by. Proverbs 20:6 says "Most men will proclaim each his own goodness". You ask anyone, "Do you consider yourself to be a good person?", and what do you think will be their response? I have asked that question many times, and have never heard anyone say they were a bad person. The problem is we base our idea of good on our own definition of good, "Well I am better that the next guy!".

If you were to stand in a court of law and the judge asked you why you ran that stop light, and you respond with "At least I'm not a Rapist!" The Judge will look at you with confusion, because he is going to judge you based on your crime not what someone else has done. God, the righteous judge, is going to judge us based on His law (the Ten Commandments).

Have you ever lied, just once? What do you cal someone who lies? It starts with"L" and rhymes with"fire". Have you ever taken something that doesn't belong to you, value is irrelevant? What do you call someone who steals? Did you always obey and honor your parents? Be careful, you've already admitted that you've lied. Have you ever looked with lust? Jesus said, "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." You see, God will not only judge our physical actions he will judge the thoughts and intents of the heart. This is just four of the Commandments, there are six others you will have to answer to.

You will stand before God on Judgment day, and he will judge you according to your works, which the Bible says are "evil". Your only hope will be, faith in Jesus Christ. By The Way, if you're standing before God, it's too late. The Bible tells us you must Repent of (turn away from) your sin, and then put your faith and trust in Jesus to be your savior. Then Read your Bible, every day. Find a Church that preaches the word, soundly. Find someone to disciple (train you) in the truth. Then on the day of Judgment, you can be presented blameless.

So, Do you consider yourself to be a good person?

Are Catholics Christian?

Well, that depends on whether or not they have repented of their sins and put their faith and trust in Jesus, and receive him as their Lord and Savior. First we have to know what they believe about Heaven and how to get there. Most Catholics believe that if their "good" outweigh there bad then they hope to go to heaven. What does the Bible say? First of all Romans chapter 3 talks about what is good. "there is none righteous, no not one", "there is none that doeth good, no, not one." , these passages speak clearly on the matter of good. Isaiah 64:6 says "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags", To God our righteousness does not measure up, to his standard. What is God's standard? In Genesis we read the story of Moses and mt. Sinai, when he was on this mountain God gave him the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are Gods standard for "goodness". We have to measure ourselves up to that standard. If you would like to see how you would measure up, click here.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.". Our Salvation has to be through Jesus, God cannot be glorified through our own goodness. If our works can save us then Jesus' death on the cross was all for not.
What about Purgatory? First of all the doctrine of purgatory is not a scriptural doctrine. The Catholic church finds the doctrine of purgatory in the apocriphal books. These books are historical in nature, and that is why all other biblical scholars exclude them in the canons of scripture. Only the Catholic church uses the apocripha. Nowhere in scripture are we commanded to pray our dead love ones into heaven.
Basically, if a Catholic person were to beleive in Salvation by grace through faith, and the other essential doctrines then they could be christian, but the Catholic religion does not teach this. Scripture is the key. Man cannot be trusted, it all has to come back to what the Bible says.

Understand, this is not an easy topic for me, since most of the people we have contact with are Catholic, and by simply writing this I stand to offend someone. That is not my goal. I want to win them to Christ, and my prayer is that they see the truth. If you can get a Catholic to read the Bible, then you have made a giant leap in winning them.

Without Excuse

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Romans 1:18-20

Let me take a moment to explain these verses of scripture and how they may relate to you. Did you notice that the passage stated that men "suppress the truth"? What exactly does that mean? To supress carries the meaning of pushing something down. What is this truth that men push down and purposely ignore? It's the knowledge God has put in every human being that there is a creator.

Let me ask you a question. Is it wrong to steal? Is it wrong to murder? Universally among all cultures of the world these things are known to be wrong. Even by those societies that regularly practice such things. God has placed in us an acute awareness of right and wrong that genetics or evolution cannot explain away. Listen to your conscience, It screams that there is a God.

This portion of scripture also states that all men intuitively know two things about God.

1. The very exisience of God.

2. The power of God.

We know by looking at creation and observing that it has divine design that it was created, and that the creator is powerful. WhatIf you had never seen a watch before and someone showed you one? Would you reason that it was formed over billions of years or would you surmise without even knowing the maker that this object was created by a maker? If you are an honest person, you would admit that an object of that design would be absolute proof of a maker. In the same way creation, in all it's complexities is absolute proof for a creator.

Take that same watch smash it into a thousand pieces. Put the pieces in a box and shake that box for a million years. Open the box again. What are the chances that after a million years that the watch would be put back together perfectly? That sounds foolish doesn't it? Our universe is so much more complex than a watch and yet many people believe that it got here by chance.

Here are some final things to think about. Because God has revealed himself to you through conscience and creation, you will stand before him one day without excuse. One day you will stand in God's courtroom. You may think that you have nothing to worry about. After all you've never murdered anyone right? What if I told you that God's standard is so high that he even considered hate to be equal with murder? (1John 3:15) What if God viewed lust the same as he does adultery? (Mathew 5:27-28) Have you ever lied? What do we call people who lie? Liars right? Isn't it true that if we are honest that we are all liars, thieves, adulturous murderers at heart? Be honest. Listen to your conscience.

The good news is that while we are guilty, God sent Jesus Christ to pay our penalty. The Bible teaches that the penalty is death. (Romans 6:23). You see you broke the law but Jesus paid your fine. (Romans 5:8). He did this by being born on this earth, living a sinless life ,sacrificing himself on the cross, and being raised from ther dead. Read Mathew, Mark, Luke or John in the Bible to read about his story.

Just knowing this doesn't help you though. You must respond in faith. If you will repent (turn from) of your sin, and call upon God to save you, he will. (Luke 13:3, Romans 10:13). Don't wait, you wil one day stand before God without excuse.

Do you have more questions? Disagree with something I've said? Want to know more? We'd love to hear from you.

Charles Lowry

What Is Sin?

Sin is the breaking of God's law. If God says "Do not lie" and you lie, then you have broken His law and sinned. When you sin, you offend God because it is His law that you have broken. Also, the reason God says to not lie, not cheat, etc., is because these laws reflect the moral purity of His nature. Therefore, the Law is a reflection of the character of God. It is wrong to lie because God cannot lie. It is wrong to steal because God cannot steal, etc. The moral law is not arbitrary. It is based on God's holiness.

The law, then, is a standard of moral purity. The Old Testament contains the Law of God. It is a perfect standard because it is God's standard. When we fail to keep the law, we sin. When we sin, we offend God. This offense against God results in a judgment. Laws are laws because they have penalties. There is no law without a penalty. Therefore, breaking God's law brings judgment which is eternity in hell. "But your sins have made a separation between you and your God," (Isaiah 59:2). And, "the wages of sin is death..." (Rom. 6:23). So, to sin, to break God's law, results in judgment. The judgment is known as damnation which is the righteous judgment of God upon the sinner. If God did not judge the sinner, then He is not upholding His holiness and he would be allowing sinners to go unpunished.

Of course, Jesus came to take our place and die for our sins (1 Pet. 2:24). This means that Jesus bore our sin in His body on the cross and paid for them. He took the judgment upon himself. This further means that anyone who trusts in what Jesus did on the cross will have his sins removed; he will be saved from God's future judgment.

So, replying to the question "What is sin?" is best answered by saying that it is breaking God's law. All people have sinned. Therefore, all people are under God's judgment -- except for those who've trusted in God's provision to escape that judgment.

Where are you? Are you in the place of God's judgment or of salvation in Christ?

Source: www.carm.org

Who Is Jesus

Jesus is the central figure of Christianity. He said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me," (John 14:6). Also, Jesus claimed to be God in flesh. If you compare what God said to Moses in Exodus 3:14 ("And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”) with what Jesus said in John 8:58 (Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am,"), then you quickly see that Jesus was claiming to be God. In fact, others testified that He was divine as well:

• John 20:28, "Thomas answered and said to Him, 'My Lord and my God!'"
• Col. 2:9, "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form."
• Heb. 1:8, "But of the Son He says, “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever..."

Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. He is the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God...And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth," (John 1:1-2,14). Because the word was with God and was God and became flesh, we then state that Jesus has two natures: divine and human. Therefore, Christianity teaches that Jesus is both God and man at the same time. The reason that he is God in flesh is because only God can atone for our sins; we can't do it on our own because we are finite, sinful beings and we cannot please an infinitely holy God. Jesus had to be a man to be able to die for humanity. This means that Jesus took our place on the cross; that is, He took our place and suffered the wrath of God the Father. If you trust in what Christ has done, then you will be saved from the righteous judgment of God. More on that next.
God is infinitely holy, sinless, and just. When we sin, when we do something contrary to God's will, then we have offended God. Since He is infinite, our offense against Him takes on an infinite quality -- because of who we have offended: an infinite God. Since no person can please an infinite God (because we are finite and sinners) then the only one left to remove our sins is God Himself. Therefore, Jesus is God in flesh, the one who died on the cross, bore our sin in his body (1 Pet. 2:24), and physically rose from the dead.
Right now, in heaven, Jesus is still in the form of a man: "For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," (1 Tim. 2:5). Jesus rose from the dead in the same body he died in: "Jesus answered and said to them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' ²⁰ The Jews therefore said, 'It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?' ²¹ But He was speaking of the temple of His body. ²² When therefore He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had spoken," (John 2:19-21). Also, He retained the wounds of His crucifixion after He rose from the dead: "Then He said to Thomas, “Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing,” (John 20:25). Forty days after His resurrection He ascended into heaven bodily: "And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight," (Acts 1:9). He will return again from the heavens, and will judge the world and all people: "This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven," (Acts 1:11). Yet, at the same time, He is still divine, "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form," (Col. 2:9).
Jesus never did anything wrong. He performed many miracles such as healing, casting out demons, walking on water, calming a storm with the command, raising people from the dead, and rising from the dead himself. Though there have been many great teachers throughout history, none of them have performed such miracles and claimed to be divine as Jesus claimed. This is why we can believe Him when He says, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me," (John 14:6).

source: www.carm.org

Who Is God?

The question "Who is God?" is a good question. It is better than asking "What is God?" This is because God exists, created us, loves us, is concerned for our being, desires to provide for us, and sent the Son to redeem us. If we were to ask "What is God?" we might be tempted to say that God is the infinite being, the creator, a presence, or something like that. In some respect, this would be true. But the first question brings us closer to understanding more of who God really is in His character and His love for us as revealed in the Bible.

The Bible teaches us that in all existence, from all eternity, there has been and always will be only one God. God was never created, is completely loving, completely just, completely holy, completely merciful, and that He desires the best for us. God is holy and He can have nothing to do with sin as the Bible says, "His eyes are too pure to look upon evil," (Hab. 1:13). This does not mean that God cannot see what someone does that is wrong. It is a way of describing how holy God is. God cannot sin. He is perfect.

In Christianity, God is a Trinity. This means that God is three persons, not three gods. Technically, the doctrine of the Trinity states that in the one God is the person of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each is not the same person as the other; yet there are not three gods but one. This is similar in analogy to the nature of time. Time is past, present, and future. The past is not the same as the present, which is not the same as the future. But, there are not three times. There is only one thing called time.

The reason the word "person" is used in describing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is because each exhibits attributes of personhood -- not in a body of flesh and bones, but in personality. In other words, each has a will, loves, speaks, is aware of others, communicates with others, etc. These are attributes of personhood and we see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each demonstrate these qualities.

Because of the Trinity, God can become flesh in the form of the Son, and still exist in such a way so that He can run the universe. Therefore, the Son can communicate to us on our level.

Following are a couple verses that hint at the Trinity.

• Matt. 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."
• 2 Cor. 13:14, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all."

The Bible says there is only one God: "I am the Lord, and there is no other;
Besides Me there is no God," (Isaiah 45:5). Yet, the Bible teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called God.

Below is a very brief chart that shows that each of the persons in the Trinity share the same attributes that only God shares. But remember, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each have wills, and speak, etc. Therefore, we say there are are three persons.

For more info go to http://christiananswers.net/q-aig/aig-c038.html

source: www.carm.org

Scientific Accuracies of the Bible

Many people doubt the Bible for various reasons. One of them is that the Bible is not accurate scientifically. But this just isn't so. The Bible is not a book about science, but when it does speak scientifically, it is accurate. In fact, it was far ahead of any other writing of its time. Please consider the following:

The Shape of the Earth
"He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in" (Isaiah 40:22,
This may or may not be construed to support the spherical shape of the earth. The horizon is a circle and a circle is flat.
The Earth is suspended in nothing
"He spreads out the northern[skies] over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing,"(Job. 26:7,
This is particularly interesting, considering that the cosmology of other cultures at that time did not have the earth suspended in nothing, but rather upon pillars, or people, or animals.
The Stars are Innumerable
"He took him outside and said, 'Look up at the heavens and count the stars -- if indeed you can count them.' Then he said to him, 'So shall your offspring be'" (Gen. 15:5,
The Existence of Valleys in the Seas
"The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of breath from his nostrils" (2 Sam. 22:16,
The Existence of Springs and Fountains in the Seas
"In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month -- on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened" (Genesis 7:11,). See also Gen. 8:2; Prov. 8:28.
The Existence of Water Paths (Ocean Currents) in the Seas
"O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!...When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,...You made him [man] ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet...the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas" (Psalm 8:1,3,6,8,).
The Hydrologic Cycle
"He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight" (Job. 26:8, ).
"He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams; the clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind" (Job. 36:27-28,)
"The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again" (Ecclesiastes 1:6-7,).
The Concept of Entropy
"In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded" (Psalm 102:22-26, ).
The Nature of Health, Sanitation, and Sickness
The listing for this section is too large for this page. But the scriptural references are Leviticus 12-14.

First Post

Just thought I would take the time to introduce what we are tying to do here. Through apologetics we want to help people answer the questions they have about God, Salvation, Faith, The Bible, Church, etc. So, if you have a question that you want the answer to, then click the email link on the right and ask away. We will try to have the answer up on the blog in a few days.
Thanks,

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