Are Christians the same as Jews?

That is an interesting question because Jesus was born a Jew, wasn’t he? So, if Jesus was Jewish and was even called “King of the Jews,” then it stands to reason that Christians are the same as Jews, right? Well, that’s not true, of course.

While many of the original Christians were probably Jewish, when Christ was crucified and then He was resurrected, they realized that he was the long-awaited Messiah and the early Christians started their own church based on the teachings of Jesus. This is all described in the first two chapters of the Book of Acts. While they still believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob from the Old Testament, they knew that Jesus was the Son of God and that they didn’t need a Rabbi or any religious leader to perform religious rituals for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus offered them salvation and a personal relationship with God through his sacrifice on the cross.

Peter, one of Jesus’ original disciples, became the first Christian priest. The rest of the disciples followed suit and spread the good news of Jesus throughout the land. Many people during this time converted to this new belief but there were still many who did not convert. Many of the people in Jerusalem refused to convert and sided with the Pharisee’s and continued to practice their Jewish faith.

That’s why, even today, there are Jews in Israel and they don’t believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

Do you have to like everyone to go to Heaven?

The simple answer is no, you don’t have to like everyone in order to go to Heaven. God does tell us to, “Love your neighbor as you would yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) But, even that isn’t a requirement to get into Heaven.

Honestly, there is only one way to get to Heaven and the great thing about it is that it doesn’t involve you or me having to be good! The truth is: Jesus is the only way to Heaven. He makes this quite clear in John 14:6, when He says, “I am the truth, the way and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” It’s not about being good because we can never be “good enough.” It’s about being forgiven and being saved through the grace of Jesus Christ.

It’s not about liking people but, really, isn’t it easier to like people than to hate people?

How old is Jesus?

Wow! That is an awesome question! And it’s also kind of a tricky one to answer because there are really two correct answers to that. Let’s start with the easiest one. We all know that Jesus was a man who lived on the earth and was crucified and died. Jesus, the man, according to the Bible, was in His thirties when He was crucified.

However, Jesus is also God and we know that Jesus was here when the world was created (John 1:1-2) and continues to reign in Heaven until His second coming. Because Jesus is God, He really doesn’t have an age as we know it. Jesus existed even before the world was created; He has always been here so we don’t have a starting point for Him. I know that sounds confusing but it’s true. So, in that respect, we can’t give Him an age.

It is certainly a bit difficult to understand, but Jesus has always been here, He is here now, and He will be here forever.

Can you go to Heaven when you are in Hell?

Wow! That is an awesome question! Sadly, the answer is no. Once you are condemned to Hell, you are stuck there for eternity. There is a story in the Book of Luke, Chapter 16, about a rich man and a man named Lazarus. In the story, the rich man dies and ends up in Hell and sees Lazarus in Heaven with Abraham. The rich man asks Abraham to give him some relief because he is in agony and Abraham say that he cannot because, “…Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross from there to us.” (Luke 16:26)

But, here’s the truth about Hell. It was never intended to be a place for us. It was created for Satan and his demons. Jesus tells us that in Matthew 25:41. Furthermore, God doesn’t send us to Hell; we choose to go there by turning our backs on God.

Honestly, there is only one way to get to Heaven and the great thing about it is that it doesn’t involve you or me having to be good! The truth is: Jesus is the only way to Heaven. He makes this quite clear in John 14:6, when He says, “I am the truth, the way and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” It’s not about being good because we can never be “good enough.” It’s about being forgiven and being saved through the grace of Jesus Christ.

How do we know that God created life and the universe if there was no one to witness it?

To help answer this question, let’s make a comparison by looking at police detective work. Let’s say we were detectives investigating a missing persons case and we convicted a suspect of a murder because a bunch of evidence showed up, even though we never found the victim’s body! Could we do that? Can we say someone killed somebody when we don’t have a body?

We can do it because of the circumstantial evidence that is around and by statements made by people involved. Then, when we weigh all of the evidence and measure it up against any witness statements, we make a determination to see if it makes sense. If everything lines up, we can make a case. But, to make sure, it takes a jury of 12 people to decide if all of the evidence, circumstances and witness statements make sense and, even then, the jury must take a step of faith and say, “Well, I believe this is the way it happened.”

That’s how we treat the Bible and the story of creation. We look at all the evidence presented in the Old Testament and New Testament. We listen to the statements of people like Moses, Abraham, King David, Solomon, the prophets and Jesus. We read the accounts of Jesus in the Gospels and read Paul’s letters and the writings of the Disciples. Then we look at all the corroborating evidence and the circumstantial evidence. Once we do all of that, we still have to take a step of faith and say, “Does that make sense? Is it more likely than not that that’s the way it happened?”

If we can truly believe that all the evidence and corroborating statements are true, even though there was no witness during the time of creation (although I disagree with you, there was witness and His name is Jesus), then we must believe that’s the way it happened.

Will we ever know for sure? Will we ever have 100% certainty that God created the earth and the universe the way it’s described in the Bible? Well, not while we’re here on earth. But I can assure you that the answer will be “yes” when we get to Heaven. Then, we will see that the account written in the Holy Bible, a book that is “God-breathed,” is 100% true.

Why is Jesus waiting to come back?

Wow! That is a great question! The truth is because of His great mercy. Jesus is giving us all a chance to be rescued from our sin and to come to Him before He returns.

You see, when sin came into this world through the act of disobedience by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when they ate the forbidden fruit, it opened up the door for Satan to enter and create all sorts of chaos and to try and disrupt God’s unstoppable plan. Satan has tried so hard, and for a long time, to get us all to turn away from God by tempting us with all sorts of bad things! And, because God gave us all free will, we’ve made a mess of this world. The world is full of bad people, terrible situations and evil temptations.

The good news is that, in order for us to have eternal life with Jesus, we have to admit our sins, believe that Jesus is who He says He is and then choose to follow Him. We have to turn from all those bad things and bad people and accept Jesus’ gift of grace. If we don’t, we’re not going to enjoy the salvation that Jesus gives us and the eternal life He promises.

But, make no mistake. Jesus will someday come back and He will defeat Satan once and for all. But, He loves us and wants to give us every opportunity to come to repentance and to choose Him as our Savior before He does return. That’s why He is waiting.

In Genesis it says “He created male and female he created them” but then it tells about Adam and Eve. So were we created at one or two times?

So go grab your Bible and read Genesis 1:27 (this is the verse you are asking about) and then also read the story of Adam and Eve which begins with Genesis 2:4 and goes to the end of chapter 4.

I can see why you asked this question, there is a lot of information and it is a little difficult to put together, isn’t it?

Here’s the deal … Genesis 1:27 is introducing the idea that humans (both male and female) are created in God’s image. God is telling us that we are the crown of His creation! And we are created to have a spiritual relationship with Him, a kind of relationship that no other created being (not dogs, elephants, monkeys, porpoises, or anything else, no matter how smart) can have with Him. That’s cool, and that’s what Genesis 1:27 is all about.

Then in Genesis chapters 2 and 3, the Bible starts telling about Adam and Eve and gives some details of their account (or story).

Finally, check out Genesis 5:1-3, which begins talking about Adam’s descendents.

Now that you have read everything about Adam and Eve, here is a fun fact about how all this information is made into a story and why –
• The word “Genesis” comes from the Greek word “geneseos” which means generation!
• Genesis includes the stories (accounts) of ten different generations – starting with Adam. This is important. While Genesis speaks of Adam’s story a couple of times, all of it together – not just the account of Adam and Eve, but of all the generations (Noah, Shem, Terah, Ishmael, Isaac, etc), show God’s love for mankind and His preparation of Israel as His chosen people!!

I know that it seems like there are different stories, but it really is just one grand story with different important parts. I hope this helps! Let me know if you have more questions!