I encounter various questions from time to time. Many are actually very common, so I thought I’d provide them here along with some answers. If you don’t find what you are looking for, then please let me know.

I have been told there are other kingdoms I can choose from.  Some of my friends are pagan. Some say there is a kingdom of darkness where we can do what we want and be together.  Are there other choices? Different kingdoms?

Despite what you may have heard, there will be no other kingdom. No kingdom of darkness ruled by satan and his followers. No kingdom of your own making with you as its god. You won’t be “ruling in hell instead of serving in heaven”. Hell itself is temporary and will be disposed of in the lake of fire. If this is what you are banking on, stop. Its a waste of time. A great deception. These spiritual entities (which are real) are lying. They are offering a fantasy that will never exist. The coming Kingdom of God will pulverize all other kingdoms into dust.  Only the Kingdom of the Most High God will remain forever (Daniel 2:44).

So please, if you want to know how to be part of God’s amazing Kingdom, if you desire to be numbered among the righteous, or even if you are just a little curious, invest some time reading this. You still have a choice – for a little while longer.

What is the core message of biblical Christianity and why is it important?

The core messages of Christianity is the gospel of God’s kingdom.  Its important because our response to the message of the gospel determines our eternal destiny. 

There are only two options to a person’s ultimate eternal destiny: 1) the Kingdom of God, or 2) the Lake of Fire.  We get to choose.  God’s Kingdom: wise choice.  Lake of Fire:  unwise choice.  No other options. 

The gospel is fundamental to your destiny beyond this life. Its the most important message on earth. The gospel is the key to God’s Kingdom. It contains a set of beliefs about a person Christians recognize as the promised messiah, Jesus Christ. These beliefs must be accepted as true in order to be saved as indicated in the following verse:

 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

John 5:24

To be “saved” is to be forgiven of all sin and receive eternal life in God’s soon coming Kingdom.  Remaining unrepentant is to remain condemned which means…the Lake of Fire. You must heed the message now, while you still live and can make the choice.

We are condemned because we reject the gospel (John 3:17-18). We are “saved” from the penalty of our violations of God’s Law when we repent and believe the gospel.

The gospel is a universal invitation extended to all people. We can accept it or reject it. We just need to understand the implications of each choice. We are all invited to submit our lives to the authority of Jesus Christ. I have taken that step. I’ll admit it was hard at the time, not because its hard to believe but because its hard to repent and follow Christ. It means turning away from a sinful way of life. The bible describes sinful behavior in very raw but very clear terms. Look at the following passage:

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, 20 idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, 21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19-21

Do you see any of your own behaviors on this list? At one time in my life, I could identify with many things on this list. These things violate God’s Law. It says clearly that those who practice such things will not be in God’s Kingdom.

A prerequisite for salvation is repentance.  Jesus himself started his public ministry with the following statement:

From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 4:17

When we believe and repent, we have salvation. Things immediately begin to change. As we get into God’s Word, the bible, and begin to follow Christ, we become transformed and the wicked behaviors begin to disappear from our lives. Note the next few verses from the same passage in Galatians:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Galatians 5:22-24

Quite the contrast with the previous list isn’t it? This is the product of being saved and living in accordance with the ways of the Lord. Having been on both sides of salvation, I can tell you that I am so glad to be saved. I don’t miss my former sinful way of life. Its such a great relief to know what my destiny is, that my sins are not held against me and that my life looks more like what is in this passage. And its only by God’s grace that I am able to live in this way.

What is the basic content and requirement of the gospel.

The apostle of Christ, Paul, wrote to one of the early churches about the priority and content of the gospel in the faith and practice of the Christian church.

1Co 15:1 — 1Co 15:8  Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.

And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve. After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

This short passage says a few important things about the gospel as it relates to salvation:

• It is declared and received.  The message has to come from someone who understands it and must be received by those who hear it.
• It is believing in the gospel and receiving Jesus as your Lord that brings salvation. If you believe, you must receive in order to be saved (John 1:11-12).
• The primary content of the gospel message is:
  • Christ died for our sins.
  • He was buried and rose again from the dead.
• The resurrection of Jesus Christ, a foundational component of the gospel, is based on eyewitness testimony – many people witnessed Jesus was alive again – the very same people who clearly saw him die on a Roman cross, including Paul himself.

Salvation rests on these truths.  It is explicitly stated in the following passage:

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. (Romans 10:8-10)

Belief from the heart results in righteousness and confession with the mouth – saying your Lord is Jesus Christ – results in salvation.  Following Jesus as Lord is the same thing as repenting of your sin.  The Psalm say that He leads us in the path of righteousness (Psalm 23). Righteousness is the opposite direction from a sinful path – the very essence of repentance.

What does it mean to be saved?

Becoming a “saved” person makes you one of the righteous. This is how you get your name indelibly recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life. I have talked a lot about being “saved” or salvation. “Salvation” is a biblical term. It means a person who has met the biblical requirements of the gospel message is forgiven of all of their sins and categorically transferred from spiritual death to spiritual life – this transferal means you are no longer considered by the LORD as one of the wicked. Instead, you are legally declared in the court of heaven as one of the righteous.  It is crossing over a line from death to life. Consider two things Jesus said about Himself:

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. ¹⁸ He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:17-18

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. John 5:24

These truths demonstrate the message of Jesus about salvation vs condemnation.  If we believe in Him, we are no longer condemned – we are saved, resulting in everlasting life.

If we don’t believe, we are under condemnation. It is the wicked who are under condemnation because we have sinned, and have not believed in Christ.  If we violate God’s Law, we sin and must either pay the penalty ourselves, or accept forgiveness from God on his terms.  The Gospel message states God’s terms for forgiveness. We cannot be saved on our own terms.  His message is clear about the result of believing in Him. Those who believe will not be condemned and will pass from spiritual death to eternal life. 

I believe the scriptures are clear in that salvation is a one time event which is not repeated.  John 5:24 depicts this as crossing or passing from death to life. Like stepping over a line and never going back. Have you crossed over the line?

When we belong to Christ, nothing in all of creation can take that away (Rom 8:38-39). I also believe the teaching in scripture indicates salvation is irrevocable. It is an adoption into God’s family.  Once you are an adopted daughter or son, God will not throw you out of the family nor do I believe he will even let you walk away.  He will sustain you always. As it says in the scriptures:

Even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,  who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Co 1:6 – 1Co 1:8)

Confirm you to the end – and blameless (forgiven).  There is no going back.  Salvation means we receive forgiveness and eternal life at the moment of true repentance and belief in Jesus as our savior and our Lord. It also means we are now fellow heirs to the promises of God’s Kingdom with the rest of true believers.

What’s in it for you if you are saved?

All I was told when I heard the gospel was that I would be forgiven of my sins and would receive eternal life. That’s awesome. But there is much more to be said about the richness of the offer to those who are saved.

I wish I would have been told more about the coming Kingdom of God. So I am going to do that here for you. What I have written for you here is a lot more than what I was told. If you follow this blog, you will discover more about the richness of God’s coming Kingdom, so there is more information in my posts and will be even more in the near future. We’ll discover this Kingdom together. But here are a few details about the immediate and guaranteed future benefits:

• We are immediately forgiven of all of our sin. We no longer have to live under the guilt and penalty of sin. We can stop the futile attempts to atone for our own sin and be sure of complete forgiveness – the slate is wiped clean. We are also free from the slavery to sin. Until we come to Christ, we are shackled to our sin – it has complete dominion over us. As the bible says, until we come to Christ, we are a slave to sin (Romans 6:17-18). Before we are saved, we literally cannot help ourselves from sinning. I remember trying that on my own before I became a Christian. I knew I was doing wrong and so I tried to stop. It never worked. I always returned to sinful ways – a slave to sin. But then I repented and trusted Christ. Jesus breaks the bondage of sin. He releases you from the chains of darkness and sinful practice. The person who the Son of God sets free is free indeed. Feel like you are trapped? In bondage? In a pit you can’t get out of? Call on the Name of Jesus. He will rescue you so fast. He stands ready right now. All you have to do is say the word.
• We receive everlasting life. We will literally live forever. This is a guaranteed future benefit – the promise of living forever in the fullness of God’s Kingdom, when it is established. Yes, we will die physically, but for believers, death is simply a transition from this life to life in heaven where the souls of all who have believed and repented are currently enjoying the presence of God and the Savior. (Heaven is the temporary location of God’s throne and where all who are saved now reside in His presence. When God’s Kingdom is fully established here on the Earth, God will relocate His throne from heaven to the Earth – more in an upcoming blog entry.) Jesus said the following:
  • John 11:25-26 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this.

• You are “born again” or born from above. This means you, as one who was previously spiritually dead, are now made spiritually alive in Christ. Jesus said the following: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3-7) This is sometimes referred to as the “second birth” and is a one time event that happens at the moment of true repentance and belief in the gospel message. It is a fundamental requirement to enter into God’s Kingdom.
• We immediately receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is mysterious but it means that the Spirit of God dwells within you. The bible calls you a temple of the Holy Spirit. This is a guarantee of the promised eternal life as well as the power to overcome sin in our lives, understand the teaching of the bible, protection from evil, direct access in prayer to God the Father through Jesus, live a joyful life of true freedom, and the capacity to love God and others. As we grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, we begin to understand more about God’s love, his protection, and his commitment to us. We are able to live life serving God and others, with an anticipation of receiving our inheritance, all God has promised and which he is fully committed to deliver.
• We become fellow heirs with all believers to the promised Kingdom of God. Its coming soon! It is God’s will that we set our minds on His promises in Christ Jesus. Of one thing you can be sure: God will deliver on His promises. His Kingdom is real, and its coming soon!
• We will be allowed access to the capital of God’s Kingdom – the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, a city about the size of the current nation of Israel – or about the size of the state of South Carolina. It will be a multi-dimensional city that will come down from heaven as God relocates His throne from heaven to the earth – a new earth that will be remade as the paradise always intended since God created it. It will be free from pollution, sin, death, crying, pain, sickness, corruption, poverty, hunger, darkness, and all evil. It will be a perfect world ruled with perfect justice and righteousness by God himself through his anointed one – the King of kings and the Lord of lords – our Savior, Jesus Christ.
• We will reign with Him. We will have responsibilities in the administration of His Kingdom. The scriptures do not have much information about the specifics but it will be an amazing reality in which the redeemed will have an active role under the reign of the Most High God and of the Son of God. You want an active role in reigning in a kingdom that shall never end? Well, here is your chance.
• We will also avoid the most horrific existence that is promised to unrepentant, unbelieving people. Their rejection of God and God’s word demonstrates their enmity towards him and will result in final eternal judgement in the lake of fire prepared for Satan, the antichrist, the false prophet, those who take the mark of the beast, and all people who lived a life rejecting God and his commandments. No person has to experience this terrible existence. All we have to do is repent and turn to the Lord Jesus in faith and submission to his authority as the son of God and this will be completely avoided.

More about all of this – there is so much more and that is the purpose of this site.

Your inaction has the same result as rejecting the gospel. Continuing to delay repentance and submitting to Christ is the same as rejecting Him. Be courageous and act today.

What is sin?

Sin is transgression of God’s law.  As with civil law, breaking God’s law has a penalty.  A place to start with understanding the requirements of His law is the 10 commandments in Exodus 20.   They can be summarized into two categories:  our allegiance to God as manifested in our acknowledgement and worship of Him, and our responsibilities toward other people. 

Jesus also covers the requirements of the law in the Sermon on the Mount (Mat 5-7) and boils them down into two overarching requirements:  1) love the Lord God with all your mind, soul, heart, and strength (everything that you are), and 2) love your neighbor as yourself (Mat 22:37-40).  If we break the law even one time, we are guilty and remain under God’s judgement unless we repent and believe the gospel (salvation). 

Look at the list of behaviors in Galatians above. Is this you? Even for a moment? Any of them? Look at the 10 commandments in Exodus 20. Do you worship the God of Heaven, the Holy One of Israel? No? Then you have broken the Law. Have you desired something or someone that belongs to someone else? This is how sin begins. Even the desire itself – coveting – is sinful. If you have ever done that, you have broken God’s law. If we are honest with ourselves, we have all broken God’s law.  Before I was saved, I broke God’s law all the time. We have all lied, desired (coveted) what does not belong to us, misused God’s name, etc. Thousands of times. Remember this: everything you have ever done is recorded in the books of deeds (Rev 20:12). What is written in this book are the charges against you when you step in front of God. Will you be liable for the penalty or will you have the charges dismissed?

We are all sinners as stated in the New Testament book of Romans:

Romans 3:23²³ For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God

All means all. We are all guilty.  Every person has their deeds – the charges against us – recorded in the books of the deeds. The bible also states the penalty for sin:

Romans 6:23²³ For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

There are many misconceptions about sin but here are some common ones people use to rationalize away the requirements of God’s Law and the penalty for breaking His law:

1. “I haven’t committed any sin.”
   • This opinion rests in perception of ourselves according to our own standards.  If we set our own commandments, then in our own minds, we never sin.  But even civil law does not work that way.  If we violate civil law, regardless of our ignorance or even disagreement with the law, we are still guilty of breaking the law. 
   • Breaking civil law comes with a penalty.  How much more so with God’s law.  If we are ignorant of His law or reject his law and violate it, then we are guilty. 
   • If we read the 10 commandments and are intellectually honest with ourselves, then we understand that we violate them all the time. Everything you do whether in secret or in the open is recorded in the books. You will stand trial; you will be held to account. Or, you can have the charges dismissed and the case against you dropped. This is what happens when you are saved!
2. “I do a lot of good. I’m a good person.”
   • Many people do many good things. In their minds, this offsets the bad things they do…sort of like a set of scales with good things on one side and bad things on the other.  In our minds the scales are always tipped in our favor because of the good we do – we tend to put our thumb on scale so that the good we do always outweighs the bad. Isn’t it interesting how we always believe the good we do outweighs the bad that we do? Fascinating. 
   • But, if we again use civil law as an example, this rationalization of sin or breaking the law doesn’t work.  We can’t make up for armed robbery by giving part of the stolen money to the poor.  Or we can’t counterbalance assaulting a person with volunteering in a homeless shelter.  One does not offset the other.  Breaking the law stands on its own and we are subject to the penalties of the law, regardless of what good we may have done otherwise. 
   • So there is no scale of bad vs good. It doesn’t exist except in our own mind. Also, the bible makes it clear we are not saved by the good things we do. We are saved only by God’s grace through faith – salvation is not of ourselves, it is a gift from God (Eph 2:8-10).
3. “I am not a Christian or a Jew so I don’t believe in their concept of God or the 10 commandments.”
   • Very simply stated, God’s existence as he is and the requirements of His law do not rest on our personal beliefs.  Our worldview, beliefs, opinions do not change reality, only our standing in it. 
   • For example, the country of Singapore exists whether I believe it exists or not. I have never been to Singapore so I may choose to believe it doesn’t exist despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.  My opinion does not change the reality of Singapore’s existence. It is there. And so it is with God.  He exists as He has revealed Himself in the bible whether we choose to accept that or not. 
   • We are all subject to His law whether we are aware of them or not.  God has made knowledge of His law available through His Word, the bible.  He has also given us a conscience, each of us instinctively knowing right from wrong as defined by God. So none of us has any excuse.  Standing in a courtroom telling the judge “I was unaware of the law” is not a valid defense for breaking the law.  Telling the judge that I disagree with the law, or reject the law, or that the law does not apply to me is also not a valid defense.  We are all subject to the law and to the penalties for breaking the law.
   • There is no clearer expose on the true nature and character of mankind than in Romans 1:18-32. This passage says that God has revealed Himself through what has been made so that nobody will have an excuse. It also clearly says we know the ordinances of God (His Law) – most simply choose to disregard it. Remember the book of your deeds. What are the charges against you written there? How are you going to answer them? What’s your defense?

As sinners, we are lawbreakers under condemnation unless we turn from our sinful inclinations (repent). Our only valid defense is the cross of Jesus Christ.  He paid the penalty for our sin.  If we repent and believe the Gospel of the Kingdom, then we receive a full pardon and we are no longer under God’s judgement.

So, obviously, response of a person to the gospel message is of primary importance in a person’s life. In fact, there is nothing more important because it literally determines your ultimate destiny forever. The invitation to salvation in Christ Jesus is only available while you are still alive. Once you are dead, the unaccepted offer is withdrawn. If this is what happens then you will stand trial, the books will be opened, everything you have ever done in violation of God’s Law will be read in court and you will be found guilty and sentenced to the Lake of Fire. If you are not motivated by the glory of the Kingdom, then be motivated by your upcoming trial.

If you are saved, then you have the only valid defense. “Your honor, I submit to the court that this person’s name has been found in the Lamb’s Book Of Life.” Case dismissed, all charges have been dropped. Next case.

What will be said when its your case that comes before the court of heaven?

What must I believe in order to be saved?

This very question was asked over 2000 years ago by a jailer in a prison holding the Apostle Paul and his companion Silas. Their response was very simple.  They gave the jailer and answer that still speaks to all people today:

Act 16:30 — Act 16:32 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? ³¹ And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. ³² And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

The bottom line is believing in Jesus in order to be saved.  But it goes on to say that the word of the Lord was spoken to the entire household. The message has content that must be believed.  What then must we then do in order to be saved? Here are the salient points of the word of the Lord that leads to salvation:

The foundational content that must believed is the reality of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins and his bodily resurrection from the dead. The evidence of the resurrection is eye witness testimony from many people who saw Jesus. Some ate with him, touched him, spoke with him,  proving the bodily resurrection (1Cor 15:3-8).

The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is so crucial that Paul says this: if it did not happen, then we who have believed have believed in vain and are still in our sins (1 Cor 15:17). Also, it is directly tied to salvation in the following passage:

Rom 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Notice the requirement not only to submit to Christ as Lord, but to believe he was raised from the dead.

If you believe,  you must receive.  It’s not enough to simply agree that the Gospel message is true.  If you believe in the name of Jesus, if you believe the Gospel of the Kingdom, you must receive him.  To believe in his name is to believe in everything about him, everything revealed in scripture by the prophets and the apostles, and by Jesus Himself.

If you know in your heart and in mind these things are true, then that is the work of God, not of men. You are now faced with a very important choice – the most important choice you will ever make because it determines your eternal destiny. When you believe you are forgiven! Your sins will not be held against you. You are transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God (Colossians 1:13-15).

Show some initiative. Show some courage. If you reach towards Christ by repenting and believing, tell him that. How do you do that? Prayer is access to Jesus. So here is how to pray: Lift your eyes to heaven where He is and thank Him for His death on the cross that paid the full price for your sin. Tell Him you know there is nothing you can do to save yourself except to trust in Him alone. Tell Him you believe and trust in Him and accept the free gift of salvation, and the forgiveness of your sins. Tell Him you repent of your sin and ask for His help to walk in His ways which are pure an holy. Ask him to protect you from evil and deception and for His help to understand His word. Tell Him you give your life completely to Him and that you will serve Him from now on.

Receive Him into your life and begin to follow Him by understanding and believing his Word the bible and obeying Him as your Lord. Get yourself to a good, healthy, bible believing, bible teaching church. Prayerfully read the bible each day. Ask God to help you understand its truths. He will absolutely help you if you are willing. And then get ready! God will begin to change you – in a very good way. You will have true peace, biblical love, joy. You will be able to look forward to His Kingdom because that will be your home. Guaranteed. Read this blog if you find it helpful. Seek out other believers. They are out there and will accept you as a brother or a sister in Christ. Now that’s receiving Him.  (John 1:12-13)

So what is it going to be? The glorious Kingdom of God or the terrible Lake of Fire? It can be the Kingdom of God right now. Don’t delay. Tomorrow is too late. Go ahead, take that step of faith and repent. Receive Jesus.

Then go tell someone.