At Ease Tees : Questions

Questions

Q: What is a Christian?

A: Unfortunately, this is a question that needs to be answered. The short answer is that a Christian is someone who follows Jesus Christ. The longer answer is necessary in today’s times. A Christian is not anyone and everyone who says that they are a Christian. They are not people who go to church every time the doors are open. They are not the people who are constantly doing good things for others. A Christian can, and should, be these things, but these characteristics do not define a Christian. There are many different religions that can talk the talk and claim to be a part of Christianity, but they are not. There are many people out there who can speak “Christianese” and talk about being “born-again” and “getting saved”, but that doesn’t make them Christians. There are people who go to church every time the doors are open and who do good things for others, but that doesn’t make them Christians either.

So, what is a Christian? Well, first, a Christian is someone who has recognized that they are a sinner and have done things that go against what God has said. They realize that because of their sins, they will not be able to go to heaven and instead will find themselves in hell (against God’s will). Next, a Christian is someone who has recognized the awe-inspiring truth that Jesus came down from heaven, lived a sinless life, and allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross to take their place so that they could be saved from hell. After that, they receive this gift by faith (not works), trusting in Jesus like you would a parachute. Finally, a Christian lives out their life by emulating Jesus. This means that their actions, words, and thoughts become more and more like His and they turn away from what they know to be wrong.

Q: What is sin?

A: Basically, sin is doing something contrary to God’s Word. It means that you have done something that God has said not to do. The easiest way for me to show sin is to look at the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were given to Moses on Mount Sinai and contain ten things that God has said not to do. If we look at these and see then we’ve broken them, then we can know that we’ve sinned. For instance, the 9th commandment says, “You shall not lie”. That means that if you’ve ever told a lie, you’ve broken the 9th commandment and have sinned. The 8th commandment says, “You shall not steal”. If you’ve ever taken anything (no matter how little it cost, or how old you were, or how long ago it was) you are a thief (someone who steals things) and have broken the 8th commandment. The 6th commandment says, “You shall not murder”. If you’ve ever murdered anyone, then you’ve broken the 6th commandment. Now, you might be saying, “Well, I haven’t done that so I’m good on that one”, but the Bible says that if you hate your brother, you’re a murderer (1 John 3:15). So, if you’ve ever hated anyone, you’ve broken the 6th commandment. The last one we’ll look at is the 7th commandment. It says, “You shall not commit adultery”. Again, you may be thinking that you’re okay, but Jesus said, “Whoever looks at someone with lust has committed adultery in their heart” (Matthew 5:28). If you’ve ever looked at someone with lust, you’ve committed adultery.

As a matter of fact, the Bible says that if you’ve broken one of the commandments, you have broken them all (Jas. 2:10). With the law, it is all or nothing. God’s law (the Ten Commandments) is the standard with which He will judge the world. If you have broken one of them (all of us have), then you will be found guilty and will find yourself in hell. Please understand that I'm not saying that Christians don't sin at all. Christians make mistakes. They fall and they mess up. That's not what I'm talking about. If you are a Christian and you make a mistake, then it is up to you to come before God and ask for repentance. I do believe that, as we grow closer to God through a daily study of His Word that it should be harder and harder for us to sin, even though it will always be a possibility. If, however, you are living a lifestyle of sin and worldliness, you are destined for hell.

Q: How do I keep from going to hell?

A: Well, if you have gotten to this point and realize that you (like the rest of us) are a sinner, and that if you died right now you would go to hell, then you can understand the necessity of the sacrifice that Jesus made for you. Jesus was without sin. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and then at the age of 33, gave Himself over to be scourged (so that He wasn’t even recognizable), beaten, and then crucified on the cross for the sins of the world. To receive what Jesus did for you, all you have to do is realize your need for Jesus, ask God for forgiveness of all the things that you’ve done against His will, and then repent from those things.

Repentance is when you turn away from those things that you know are wrong and walk away from them. You don’t go back to them, you leave them there and walk on without them. Instead, you look at what God says in the Bible, and you apply what you read to your life. You also need to look for a Bible believing church that will help you to understand whatever may be difficult at this point.

Conclusion

I want to thank you for taking the time to read this. It is my desire that it has spoken to you about the truth of God and who Jesus Christ is. If you have read this and you don’t believe in what was said, then I pray that you would consider it again. Not believing in something doesn’t change the truth about it…and I don’t want anyone to go to hell. If you’ve read this and you have made the decision to give your life to Jesus and receive the free gift of salvation, then I would love to hear from you! You can email me at the shop email address with any questions you may have.

There are a couple of ministries that I would love to pass on to you too.

The first is The Way of the Master website. They have wonderful things that will help you along with your growth. They will also help you to learn how to share your faith with others!

The other ministry is Precept Ministries International. They have an amazing array of Bible studies that will help you to begin to learn more about God and how to apply what the Bible says to your life!

Once again, thank you for your time and may God Bless you!

Mike