Common Questions

The most important thing is why He came and what we are supposed to do about it.

The Bible says that everyone has broken God’s laws, which is called sin, in what we do, say, and think. The penalty for this is spiritual death forever, and nobody can be made right with God on their own by doing good (Romans 3:10, 20, 23; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9).

God knows we are not able to save ourselves from this situation, so He made a way for us that is as easy as possible: He offers eternal life as a free gift for those who accept it.

Even though God is merciful, He would not be a God of justice if He did not punish sin. Similar to how someone can pay another person’s fine, Jesus died to pay our penalty so God would not be unjust by simply overlooking sin. This came at a huge cost: God is so loving toward the world that He let His own Son go through terrible suffering and death for us (John 3:16).

To accept this gift, we must reach out and receive it by believing in Jesus. This does not just mean thinking He is real. It means a deep faith that results in putting Him in charge of our lives. We also turn from being okay with doing wrong to wanting to do what God wants. When we have this type of faith, we are “reborn” spiritually. The good things we do are not what save us, but they are the result of genuine belief and change from the inside out (James 2:14-24; 1 John 1:8-10; 1 John 3:4-10).

For people who are ready to admit that they need God’s forgiveness, it can be as simple as praying: “God, I know I have done wrong in many ways. I want to turn away from being okay with that and put Jesus in charge of my life. I need Jesus’ forgiveness, and I believe that He died and rose from the dead to pay for my sins.” (Romans 10:9-10; Acts 3:19; Mark 1:15)

If you prayed this prayer and meant it from your heart, be sure to tell someone about it and visit the link below for next steps and Bible verses.

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The Bible is composed of many books and letters that make up the Old Testament, which came before Jesus, and the New Testament, which records the time during and after Jesus’ earthly ministry. Despite being written by many authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it shows remarkable unity in one coherent message.

Many events and nations in the Bible have been confirmed historically and archaeologically. Over the years, skeptics have doubted the existence of certain people in the Bible, only for later discoveries to support the Bible’s historical reliability, such as with King David or Pontius Pilate.

The Bible also demonstrates a commitment to truth even when key figures do not look good and the story does not sound polished. For example, it describes King David’s adultery, Abraham lying about his wife to protect himself, Jesus’ core disciples being afraid, and Peter denying Jesus three times after saying he never would.

There is also prophecy written before it happened that fits amazingly well. Isaiah 53 describes a person to come who would suffer unjustly and bear the sins of others so they could have forgiveness. This corresponds remarkably with what Christianity teaches Jesus accomplished. Some critics once thought Christians had later edited this passage to fit Jesus, but the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls confirmed the wording existed before Jesus.

With the New Testament, we have an extraordinary number of ancient manuscripts and fragments, far exceeding any other similar work from that era. This helps give us confidence that changes over time did not alter the message or doctrines through copying errors or other issues. The accounts of Jesus’ life and teachings were also written while eyewitnesses were still alive, which helps guard against the idea that fabricated legends developed much later.

Related questions: What is the evidence for Jesus rising from the dead? and Does evolution disprove the Bible?

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The reasons for believing this form a strong case for being confident that it actually happened. A helpful starting point is to outline the core facts many critical scholars, including non-Christian scholars, agree happened:

• Jesus was crucified on a cross.
• Jesus was buried in a tomb.
• The tomb became empty.
• The disciples believed they saw the risen Jesus.
• They were so convinced that some died for what they said they saw.
• The resurrection of Jesus was believed very early, which makes it unlikely to be a later legendary invention.

With these points in mind, the question becomes whether any natural explanation can account for the historical evidence better than the claim that Jesus was in fact resurrected. Various theories have been suggested, but each has significant shortcomings.

• The disciples stole the body. This would not explain why they staked their lives on it being true. People may die for false beliefs, but they do not usually die for claims they know they fabricated.
• Jesus did not actually die on the cross, but only fainted. In that scenario, He would have been barely hanging onto life and would not have been convincing to the disciples. Also, crucifixion was designed to kill, and the Romans were competent at carrying it out.
• The disciples hallucinated. Group experiences can happen, but shared, detailed, physical resurrection appearances do not fit the pattern of this kind of hallucination. Hallucinations also do not explain an empty tomb.

Also of note, in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Paul preserves an early tradition about Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and appearances. This is one reason scholars believe the resurrection was an extremely early belief among Jesus’ followers. Paul also says Jesus appeared to over 500 people at once and mentions that most of these witnesses were still alive, which made the claim open to investigation or challenge.

The link below includes a debate with a well-known atheist professor from Oxford University.

Resurrection debate

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Here are two important points on this topic.

Point 1: Intelligent Design. There is strong evidence that the universe, and life as we know it, was designed and is not the byproduct of random chance. Some atheistic scientists even conclude that the odds of randomness producing all this would be too low to reasonably believe, so they turn to the belief that there must be an unlimited or huge number of universes to compensate for the low probability, despite having no evidence that they actually exist.

Some compelling examples of evidence for intelligent design include the ribosome inside cells, which is described as “a staggeringly complex, highly coordinated molecular machine” made up of hundreds of thousands of atoms; the fine tuning of physics; the origin of DNA and translation mechanisms for it; and the development of the first complete system that could theoretically evolve once it formed.

Point 2: Apparent Age. If God created the world, we should expect it to appear old immediately upon being created rather than to appear young, even though it would be young. Because of this, some scientific approaches may be logically sound but unable to be relied upon for forming conclusions about this.

Consider if God created humans in one day as full-grown adults. They might incorrectly think the earth was at least 18 years old since that would be their apparent age. Even the existence of beaches looks old because rocks normally take many years to grind down into sand.

If God wanted people to be able to see the universe, we would not have been able to see the nearest galaxy like ours, Andromeda, until 2.5 million years had passed, and not even a single star would have been seen until 4 years had passed. We also would not have had fuel sources like oil or coal that normally take time to produce.

God making things in this way, as if they had formed naturally, is not being deceptive. The Bible says He told humans He did so, and it is only because of faults of people that it would not continue to be believed.

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We do not live in a world where God forces everyone to follow Him and do what is right. Because of this, suffering and evil in the world are unavoidable due to the choices people make that hurt others or fail to help them.

In addition, virtues such as self-sacrifice, compassion, generosity, and others can be lived out for the benefit of people in need. In a perfect world, what could be done would be more limited.

It is natural to ask this question because we do not want to see others suffer, or maybe because something significant has happened in our own lives that made us question the love or character of God. What can be hard to think about in the moment, but is still very much the case, is that God offers eternal life without suffering for free to everyone. He was even willing to have His own Son Jesus suffer in our place to make this possible. By doing this, He has already proven His love beyond a shadow of a doubt.

This eternal perspective can be hard because a lifetime of suffering, or even shorter periods, feels like an extremely long time. However, if someone were offered one day of pain followed by the rest of their life being amazing, they would not think twice about the one day of suffering. It is hard for us to comprehend how much longer eternity is than our time here on Earth, but despite feeling long, our life here is like that one day in the scheme of things. We are offered eternity in paradise as a gift. We do not have to earn this by doing good, but by having the kind of belief in Jesus that the Bible talks about.

This does not mean we should not care deeply for people going through suffering. Their suffering is still very real. The Bible talks about Jesus having compassion on people who suffered in this life, and it gives examples of people crying out to God through hardship. We can also be part of reducing suffering. If everyone chose to live how God wanted them to, a massive amount of suffering could end virtually overnight.

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Some people say that God was harsher in the first part of the Bible, the Old Testament, which causes some doubt about its trustworthiness.

One example often given is that God commanded His people to destroy certain nations of the land they were entering. What is often left out, though, is that the nations God judged were practicing terrible evils, including sacrificing their children by burning them in fire (Deuteronomy 12:29-31; Leviticus 18:21, 24-30). Also, there were some nations He commanded them not to kill (Deuteronomy 2:4-5, 9, 19).

The Bible records how God described Himself to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7: “The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty.”

He also cared about people beyond just His chosen people. For example, He sent His prophet Jonah to preach to a major city among Israel’s enemies so the people there would turn from the wrong they were doing and He would not destroy them.

Another big-picture point is that God is the creator and sustainer of all life. He is not under obligation to give any person another day, and His authority over life and judgment is not the same as ours. This can be difficult to think through because we are naturally wired to feel that certain actions are wrong. However, God is not merely another human being within creation. He is the righteous Judge over creation, so His actions cannot be measured as though He were simply another person with the same limitations and obligations we have.

The Bible’s claim is not that God is harsh in the Old Testament and loving after Jesus came, but that He is always both just and merciful.

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It is true that the Bible says Christians will look different (see the pattern of sin mentioned in 1 John 3:6). However, it does not say Christians will be perfect. There is still a battle against doing wrong, but there is also an ability to overcome that was not there before (John 8:34-36; 1 Corinthians 10:13). It is fully expected that Christians will mess up (1 John 1:8-9), but there should be a genuine desire to do what is right, and like everyone else, Christians are in need of God’s forgiveness.

There are also people who say they are Christians but do not meet the Bible’s definition of a Christian. Jesus says that at the final judgment, many people who call Him “Lord” will not enter Heaven because their lives are marked by willful disregard for God’s laws (Matthew 7:21-23). This does not mean Christians never do wrong, but the Bible says there is a real difference.

Doing good is not what gets a person into Heaven. Instead, doing good things is an outward sign of true inward faith in Jesus, which the Bible says is what matters.

While it is not our job to definitively judge whether others are Christians, some key questions people can ask themselves are:

• If God were to ask why He should let you into Heaven, what would you say?
• What makes someone a Christian?
• If God told you that He wanted you to give up something or prioritize Him, would you?
• Do you have a sincere desire inside to always do what is right even if you mess up at times, or are there sins you are holding onto?

If someone thinks doing good things gets them into Heaven, or that a person becomes a Christian by anything other than receiving a free gift through a specific kind of belief in Jesus, that is cause for concern. The same is true for doing what is right only out of fear of punishment, or for putting things or sins above God.

See also: What is the single most important thing to know about Jesus?

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This is a very relevant topic today. It is natural, and commendable, to have compassion for people who have to choose between giving up the sexual fulfillment they naturally desire or acting against what the Bible says. It would be very hard to surrender such a deep human longing.

Throughout history, people have been hateful toward LGBTQ+ people despite Jesus teaching us to love everyone. Others have singled out this category while turning a blind eye to heterosexual sins such as sex outside of marriage or pornography and lust.

On the overall question, the core point is that God, as the creator of everyone, is the only one who can define what is right and wrong. If He says something is the case, we are not in a position to say otherwise.

That being said, for LGBTQ+ people, He does offer an amazing life. It can be difficult because certain desires cannot be fulfilled, but the benefits He offers far outweigh anything He calls on them to give up.

Two key points are that Jesus offers eternal life as a free gift for those who accept it, and that for those who do, both Jesus and the apostle Paul present a high calling for people to remain single and devote their lives to God. This is not without real sacrifice, but the Bible says that our sufferings for doing right in this life are far outweighed by the reward God gives in eternity.

Imagine if someone experienced real relational loss throughout life, while also having many meaningful blessings, and then was given perfect love, eternal fellowship, and life forever in the next life. This can be the story of someone who is LGBTQ+ and living a life honoring to God. They may make real sacrifices day by day, just like someone who is heterosexual and lives single for God, but it is well worth it in the end (Mark 10:6-9; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Romans 5:8; Matthew 19:12; Matthew 6:20; 2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

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Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father [God] except through me” (John 14:6). So what happens to someone who never had the chance to hear about Jesus? Would God send them to hell?

The Bible indicates that people cannot knowingly reject Jesus and end up in Heaven (see Matthew 10:33 and others), but for people who have never heard of Him, the answer is not as clear.

While the Bible teaches that the only way we can be forgiven for our sins is by Jesus paying the penalty we deserve, it also says God saved some people on the basis of Jesus’ sacrifice who lived before Jesus came. For people who have not heard, it may be that God applies Jesus’ sacrifice in scenarios He has not described to us, but salvation would still be through Jesus, not apart from Him.

This is not to say this is definitely the case, but it is not without precedent. It is also not to suggest that anyone should rely on this possibility as a safe way to be made right with God. The Bible says God calls on all people everywhere to turn away from being okay with sin (Acts 17:30-31) and to believe in Jesus to be saved (Romans 10:9-13).

To learn more about what is needed to be forgiven for your sins and to be given eternal life after you die, read What is the single most important thing to know about Jesus?

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Christianity is the fulfillment of Judaism, the oldest major world religion, tracing back to Abraham around 4,000 years ago. Jesus fulfills many themes from Judaism, such as payment for the penalty of sin for forgiveness and belief in God making someone right (Genesis 15:6). He also fulfills prophecies such as Isaiah 53, Genesis 22:18, and arguably Daniel chapter 9.

Jesus did not simply come along and claim to bring something new without proof. God raised Him from the dead with compelling evidence. See the related resurrection question on this page for more.

In addition to the evidence for Christianity, other religions carry notable reasons why they are not worth following. Here are some high-level points about religions with followers totaling at least 1% of the world’s population:

• Islam / Muslims: A single person, Muhammad, claimed to receive divine revelation that superseded the Bible. This revelation, the Quran, includes statements such as God allowing people to think Jesus was crucified when he actually was not (Surah 4:157), a man being allowed to have four wives (4:3), and husbands being allowed to hit their wives (4:34). It also affirms that Jesus, Isa, did miracles such as raising people from the dead (5:110).
• Hinduism / Buddhism: Both teach that people will keep getting chances to get it right after they die and eventually will get it right, so pursuing them does not make much sense given the strong reasons for believing Christianity. Hinduism was also formed as a religion that believed in many primitive gods, such as the sun god, wind god, god of rain, and others. Later Hindu beliefs were changed to make the religion more attractive to modern adherents, but it retains those core roots. Both belief systems also lack the compelling evidence Christianity has in support of its supernatural claims.

Related question: What is the evidence for Jesus rising from the dead?

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