If Jesus took all sin into His heart and died, how did He go to Heaven?

Great question! The truth is Jesus never sinned. He (amazingly!) took the sins of the world upon himself as part of God’s plan to save us from being separated from Him forever.

 

Do you remember that in the Old Testament days, animals were sacrificed to pat the price for sin? The blood  of the sacrificed animals was traded to cover the sins of men. The animals never sinned, but were sacrificed in exchange for human sin.

 

Animal sacrifices, however, could never be enough to fully cover human sin. God’s plan required blood from a perfect, sinless person. This is because our perfect and holy God cannot be anywhere near sin. Of course, it was impossible to find a perfect and holy person since we all have sinned and fallen short of the perfection God requires. So, God sent His One and Only Son to be that perfect, sinless sacrifice in our place. 

 

Jesus took our place and endured the punishment that we all deserve, even though He had never sinned. Because of His sacrifice, God was able to us as if we were perfect and sinless like Jesus. And even though Jesus accepted all our sin onto Himself, He was still perfect and sinless! That is why Jesus was able to ascend into Heaven and is alive today at the right hand of God.

 

This is why we now can be sure of having eternal life with God in Heaven, because of Jesus’ sacrifice. Of course, we still have a part to do … though it’s actually pretty easy: You simply have to accept Jesus  as your Savior and accept His gift of grace!

 

Why did Eve listen to Satan and eat the forbidden fruit?

Wow! That’s an awesome question! There are actually two reasons and they kind of relate to each other. First, Eve was deceived by the serpent. That wily old snake came to Eve and confused her. He twisted God’s words (which, by the way, he does all the time with you and me) and made her question God.

Remember what he said to her? He first said, “Did God really say ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” So, he first got her to question God. Then he said, “You will not surely die!” Again, making her question what God said!

Then, Satan added, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Now here’s where it gets interesting. Satan first got Eve to question God, then he appealed to her pride. He told her she could be “like God.”

Did you know that pride is one of the sins God absolutely detests? In Proverbs 6:16-19, it lists seven things that are detestable to God and pride is listed first. That is because pride was the first sin ever committed, even before the creation of man. In fact, it was Lucifer (Satan) that committed the sin of pride when he wasn’t satisfied just being an angel and wanted to be “like God.” (Sound familiar?). His sin of pride also took a third of the angels with him.

So, Satan both deceived Eve and appealed to her pride, which caused her and Adam to eat the forbidden fruit. The result: sin entered mankind.

Now, if that were the end of the story, our lives would be hopeless! The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). But, God, in His infinite mercy and by unending grace gave us His One and Only Son, in the person of Jesus Christ, and it is through our acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Savior that we are spared death and assured eternal life in Heaven. The key is that you have to accept that gift of grace. The beautiful part is, you don’t have to do anything to earn it! It’s His gift to you! Have you made that commitment yet? If you have, are you living out your faith every day?

If Adam and Eve ate the fruit in the garden, why did they cover their bodies and not their mouths?

Another great question! So, prior to them taking a bite from fruit that was from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden and they were naked. But, because sin hadn’t entered into the world, they had no reservations about being naked because there was nothing unnatural or wrong with it. Think about it, no other creature or animal was clothed, there were no other people and there was no evil associated with it.

I am often reminded of very little children who are about 2-years old who insist on taking off their diapers and running around naked! They do it out of innocence and aren’t embarrassed at all and don’t care because they are oblivious to their nakedness. They just don’t see the difference between their face, their knees or the part of their body that we parents insist they cover. Adam and Eve were similar in that type of thinking.

BUT, once they ate the fruit, the Bible says “their eyes were opened and they realized they were naked.” Sin had entered into mankind and the evil associated with nakedness, primarily lust, made them embarrassed and so they covered the parts of their bodies that affected lustful thoughts.

The covering of their bodies wasn’t meant as punishment, it was a way to hide their sin. Of course, these days, I sometimes wish we could cover some people’s mouths with fig leaves because of all the unwholesome and sinful speech coming out of it!!!

Is it true that if you deny God or stop acting like a Christian, you're not one?

Wow, this is a deep question … The Bible is very specific regarding this topic. If you “profess” to be a Christian and claim you are saved, but knowingly fail to live by Jesus’ teachings, God does not take that lightly. Notice I emphasize “knowingly.” If someone isn’t saved and doesn’t know who Jesus is, that person is living life ignorantly. Basically, they don’t truly know what’s biblically right or wrong. In essence, they are denying God. Sadly, they are perishing without even realizing it. But, if you know Jesus and you know His teachings, you cannot claim ignorance. And, if you willfully violate His standards … look out. I’m going to give you a Scripture that literally changed my life and it’s Hebrews 10:26-27, which reads:

“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.”

When people profess to know Jesus but then willfully act against His teachings, they are considered enemies of God! I didn’t want to be the guy that claimed he was saved and then knowingly did bad things, believing that because I was “saved” I was somehow protected by God’s grace and Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. I think this verse makes it very clear that once you know something is wrong but you continually do it anyways, there is no sacrifice left. The Book of Romans, chapter 6, also addresses this and states very forcefully on two different occasions that being saved doesn’t allow a person to keep sinning (basically turning their back on God and not acting like a Christian). Romans 6:1 and 6:15 are firm in their positions.

Finally, another verse that literally scared me into acting right, not just outwardly but in my heart, is Matthew 7:21-23. In this verse Jesus separates people by true and false disciples when he says:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”

I didn’t want to be seen as someone that just acted like he was a Christian … going to church, teaching in TRACK, or leading a small group … but not really loving Jesus with all my heart and submitting to His authority. I didn’t want Jesus to look at me and tell me He never knew me.

Now, having said all that, does that mean if you make a mistake and sin, God’s going to turn His back on you? NO! We are imperfect beings; we make mistakes. Sometimes we even willfully disobey God. But, if you don’t continually and habitually disobey God and you are truly sorrowful and repentant, you will be forgiven. God knows your heart. He knows if you’re truly repentant or just trying to get away with something. And that’s the key.

Are we truly sorry and repentant or are we just sorry we got caught? Do we truly want to change or are we just pretending we want to change because it’s the “Christian” thing to do? Well, God knows for sure where your heart is and what your motives are.

How can I love God and other people like God loves us?

That is a very awesome question! And the honest truth is, you can’t! I have to tell you that up front so that you don’t put so much pressure on yourself because the truth is NO ONE can love as unconditionally, immensely and infinitely as God can.

The reason is because God’s love is perfect. He can’t ever not love us! He can’t hate us. He can’t get sick of us. His love is unconditional. The Holy Bible uses a Greek word, “agape,” to describe God’s love for us. There isn’t even an English translation for it. It’s basically a deep, deep, unconditional love for us.

So, why can’t we love God or others like that? It’s because of our sin nature. This is the sin that was handed down from us from the time of Adam and Eve, Our sinful nature puts conditions on our love … sometimes even with God! We are imperfect beings so we can’t love perfectly. At some point will get mad or hurt and pull our love back just a bit. God doesn’t do that.

But, does that mean we shouldn’t love God or people? Absolutely not! In fact, when asked by His disciple s what the greatest commandment was, Jesus said:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

Do you see what Jesus says? Not love the Lord with all His heart but our own! Our own imperfect hearts … the hearts that sometimes break, the hearts that sometimes grow tired of loving and the hearts that sometimes falter because of anger. So, we’re to love God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind. We’re to love God as best we can. Then, we’re to love our neighbor as ourselves.

So, how can we do that? Through prayer. Through service. Through random acts of kindness. Remember what Jesus says:

“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” (John 14:21)

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:12)

“This is my command: Love each other.” (John 15:17)

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)

God bless you!

Is suicide a sin?

Wow. Thanks for a tough question! I believe the Bible is very clear on this matter: the answer is Yes. But, don’t forget, suicide is just one of a number of sins mankind has committed against God. To God, suicide is the same as stealing, worshipping false gods, not honoring your parents and even taking the Lord’s name in vain. He doesn’t make one sin worse than another. To God, sin is sin.

Let me explain why the Bible says it’s a sin. In the New Testament, there are two places in 1 Corinthians where I believe God speaks to this. First off, let me just say that the word “suicide” is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. But, listen to these two verses:

“Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

The Apostle Paul is telling the people of Corinth that their bodies are temples of the Lord and that the Holy Spirit lives in that temple. Basically, your body is sacred and God won’t take kindly to anyone who destroys His temple. Furthermore, God really stresses that we’re to honor Him with our bodies. Killing our own bodies does not honor God and also violates one of God’s original commandments:

“You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13)

Remember, God is the One who decides how long your life will be (Psalm 139: 15-16, Psalm 39:4). When a person decides to commit suicide, they are taking that decision away from God. Is that a sin? Absolutely. It also the ultimate waste of a life that Jesus gave His own life for! He didn’t suffer and die on the cross just to have a person throw away the life He gave everything for. So, yes, suicide is a sin.

But, also realize that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23). The Bible also tells us that there is no one righteous, not one! (Romans 3:10) The only person who was completely perfect and lived without sin was Jesus Christ, who was crucified for all of our sins. He paid the price for all of us so that we could have eternal life with God, the Father. And it is through the power of His resurrection that we are saved! The Holy Bible is very clear on this:

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

So, if you admit your sins, believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins and then commit to repenting (or turning away from the sins) and following Jesus, then you become God’s child. And, because you are God’s child, you are an heir to the inheritance of eternal life with Him in Heaven!!! Isn’t that awesome???

If you sin and you just don't know it's a sin, did you sin?

Wow, that is an awesome question! It is a little difficult to answer because the answer is very complicated and has been open to much debate and discussion. So, let me use an example that might help you to understand this.

Let’s say you go to another country (we’ll make one up). And let’s say in this country, Kidonia, it was illegal to drink soda on Sundays. So, you go to Kidonia and get thirsty and drink a Coke on Sunday, not knowing that it was against the law. All of a sudden the police come in and arrest you and tell you, “You’re under arrest for drinking a Coke on Sunday!” You would argue that you are a foreigner and didn’t know it was illegal to drink a Coke on Sunday. But, the police say to you, “We don’t care; it’s still illegal and you committed a crime!”

So, did you commit a crime in Kidonia? Yup. Did you know you were committing a crime? No. Does it mean that because you didn’t know it was a crime, it’s okay to do? No. It is still against the law.

Let’s now compare that to sin. Just because you didn’t know something was a sin, doesn’t mean it’s not a sin. It is still a sin and, if you do it, you committed that sin. We call those unintentional sins. God says that stealing is a sin. But, if you didn’t know that stealing was sin and you did it, would you still be sinning? Of course!

But, God also looks at the heart. He looks at your motives. And you do have a foundation in Christ so you do know what is right and what is wrong. And because you do have Christ in your life, you are covered in His love for you.

Romans 8:1-2 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”

If you believe in Jesus and because you know that He died on the cross for you, you don’t have to be anxious about things like worrying about whether you have sinned or not. Look at what it says in Philippians 4:4-7:

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

God will guard your heart and your mind. If you have to question your actions or your thoughts, then pray for God to help you. He loves you and won’t let you unintentionally sin.

Now, if you know something is a sin and you still do it…well, that’s a different story. Habitual and intentional sin have different consequences. But, that’s a whole different topic!

If God knew that Satan would turn bad, why did he create him?

Wow, that is an awesome question! The truth is that no one knows why God does certain things. When God initially created Satan, Satan’s name was Lucifer and he was an archangel. In fact, he was the equivalent of God’s second-in-command. Lucifer was the most beautiful angel and he was given a lot of power. His job was to take care of God’s glory.

But, then Lucifer became prideful and thought he could do the job just as well as God could do it. So he tried to take over heaven. The problem was: Lucifer was a created being created by God! He only had the power and authority God gave him. God, on the other hand, has always been here and always will be here and He is all-powerful, all-knowing and ever-present. There was no way Lucifer could win.

I suppose God could have just destroyed Lucifer right then and there but, instead, he cast him down and, sadly, also threw one-third of the angels out of heaven that decided to align themselves with him. And ever since that time, Satan has been corrupting this earth and God’s people through sin.

God has allowed Satan to live and roam the Earth and let bad things to happen And, for the record, let me just say that God could take Satan out anytime that He chooses, if he wanted to, but that God has a greater unstoppable plan in store for us. In fact, I know God can take Satan out because, eventually, God does get rid of Satan by throwing him in the Lake of Fire.

The real question is why didn’t God do it yesterday or why doesn’t God just do it now??? I mean, if God had gotten rid of Satan yesterday, I wouldn’t be tempted the way I am today, right? The best way to get rid of temptation, it seems to me, is to get rid of the Great Tempter, right??? So, why doesn’t God do that?

Well, the Bible does not directly answer that question. But, here is a truth we do know: God sent His one and only Son to us and it is through His death on the cross that you are saved! And when you put your love, faith and trust in Jesus despite Satan’s lies, tricks and temptations, Jesus’ glory will shine through you and you will be able to overcome anything! “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

When did unwholesome words come into the world? If Adam and Eve were Christians why did they come up with those words?

Awesome questions! Wow, you really like to stretch my brain, don’t you??? Well, the answer is that unwholesome words entered into this world when sin entered the world. Remember, “unwholesome words” just aren’t swear words. It’s anytime you say something that can be hurtful to others or that hurts the heart of God, such as taking His name in vain.

Look at what Ephesians 4:29 has to say about unwholesome words: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” As Christians, we are supposed to speak in a way that helps people according to their needs not make them feel worse.

Let me try and give you a real life example. Let’s say you’re really good at a video game and a friend comes over and wants to play it. Let’s say that friend is absolutely terrible at the video game and keeps losing. The unwholesome way to speak to that friend would be to say, “Give me that controller! You stink!!! I’ve never seen someone play this game as badly as you just did!” That does nothing to build up your friend. You didn’t curse at him but you said he stunk. The Christ Follower would say, “It’s okay … it’s a hard game to play but I know, with practice, you’ll get better.”

Now, regarding the second part of your question, I don’t know what kind of words Adam and Even came up with but, if they did come up with bad words, it’s because of the sin that entered the world. I’m fairly certain they did not invent many of the curse words we hear so often today but because of their sin, that has been passed on throughout the ages we, human beings, have invented inappropriate and unwholesome words to say.

Remember what happened immediately after Adam and Eve bit into the apple? Their eyes were opened and they realized they were naked. (Genesis 3:7) Right then and there, sin entered into the world. Adam and Eve even hid from God because of what they had done. I can only imagine what they were saying to each other too; it was probably the first time unwholesome words were spoken in the Garden of Eden. I’m not saying Adam all of a sudden started cussing but I bet he looked right at Eve and said something like, “Boy, that sure was dumb … thanks a lot!” Again, not using cuss words but certainly not using words to build her up. Of course, we don’t know what was said but we do know that from that point, sin was in the world and it is that original sin that perpetuates unwholesome words today.

What’s an easy way to explain baptism?

That is very good question! Baptism is simply the symbolic way of demonstrating to friends and family that you have accepted Jesus Christ into your heart as your Lord and Savior. It is a ceremony that imitates symbolically what John the Baptist did to Jesus when he baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. It represents the “washing away” of your sins and compares it to the burial of Jesus’ death when He died on the cross and took the sin of the world on Himself. Then, when you are lifted from the water, it represents Jesus’ resurrection and His overcoming of sin and death. That’s why we declare that you are to “rise again and walk in the newness of life,” because through the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection, you are forgiven and given eternal life with Him in Heaven! Pretty cool, huh?

There are many people who believe that baptism is absolutely necessary for salvation, which, in turn, gets you into Heaven. They often quote the Apostle Peter in Acts 2:38, “repent and be baptized,” as evidence that asking Jesus into your heart plus baptism results in salvation. Well guess what? Scripture clearly doesn’t support that view.

For example, when the thief on the cross placed his faith in Christ, Jesus said to him, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43), even though the dying thief had no chance of being baptized. Jesus assured the thief he would go to Heaven. The book of Acts demonstrates that baptism is a sign of becoming a Christ Follower, but not the way we become a Christ Follower.

When the jailer asked the Apostle Paul, “what must I do to be saved?” Paul responded, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:30-31) He didn’t say anything about having to be baptized.

Baptism isn’t the way we’re saved. It is merely the symbolic way we show our friends that we’ve turned away from our sin and have asked Jesus into our life. It’s a symbolic gesture to show everyone that we’re no longer our own – that we’ve been adopted into the family of Christ.

Why do people do evil things?

Quite simply, it’s because of sin. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and took a bite of that apple, it let sin and evil into this world. But, I need to be clear on this too … God gave us all free will to either choose sin or to choose righteousness. Some people are just truly evil for whatever reasons. They’ve turned their backs on God and decided to live lives that we can’t even understand. We look at truly bad people and say, “Wow, I’m glad I’m not him!” The sad part is we all sin to some degree. Even though we don’t mean to be evil, we sometimes do things that hurt the heart of God. For example, lying to your parents or friends, being angry at someone and hoping something bad will happen to them, cheating on a test, or maybe stealing some candy when no one is looking. The Bible tells us specifically:

“There is no one righteous; not even one.” (Romans 3:10)

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

It seems hopeless, doesn’t it? But, guess what? Here’s the Good News: Jesus Christ came to this earth and died on the cross for our sins. Our belief in that death and resurrection and the gift of grace that Jesus gives us through faith is what saves us from eternal punishment! Now, you have to ask yourself, do I really believe that? I am here to tell you without hesitation or shame that, yes, I believe that.

The reason that belief is so important is because if you don’t believe it or you question your faith, then that’s when fear creeps in. You begin to question things, especially when bad things happen! I have had many kids ask me, “How could God kill all those people in Haiti during that earthquake?” or, “Why does God let little children die?” Because we can’t make sense of it, we begin to falter in our faith, not trusting that God has a reason for it.

And when we doubt God, we allow fear to override our faith. I truly believe that it’s Satan trying to deceive us and to discourage us from trusting God completely. Satan knows that if he can create doubt in your mind, that’s when the fear can creep in. Satan is a master liar. He will do everything he can to make you doubt God’s abilities or love for you; he will even twist God’s word! Remember what he said to Eve in the Garden of Eden? Satan came as a serpent and convinced Eve to take a bite of the apple by saying to her, “Did God really say not to eat from any tree in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1) Then that darn serpent said, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good from evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)

He tricked Eve and sin came into the world. Once sin entered the world, it allowed doubt to also enter our minds. When we doubt God’s abilities or love for us, we get scared. It’s not because we don’t believe in God, it’s because Satan makes us doubt that God is who He says He is and that God couldn’t possibly do all those things.

But, remember this…it’s all about faith. Know in your heart that God is who He says He is. Know that God is good all the time and that He cannot sin. Know that God loves you and that He has plans for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you a hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Is divorce a sin when your wife is like sinning and cussing and drinking?

Wow, now that is an interesting question because Jesus was asked a similar question in Matthew 19. First, though, let’s get a firm Biblical perspective on what God’s position on divorce is. I think what God says in Malachi 2:16 is pretty blunt and to the point: “I hate divorce, says the Lord God of Israel.” Then, in Matthew 19:9, Jesus supports God’s position by stating “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."

This verse seems to imply that divorce is okay if one of the spouses commits the sin of adultery against the other spouse. Remember, the Bible is written from the male perspective so this passage means that if either of the two spouses, husband or wife, commits adultery then the other can get a divorce and remarry without being considered a sinner. Now, the question is, is this only applicable to the sin of adultery? Can we interpret it to include all sin? The answer is yes, it only applies to adultery and does not include other sins like cussing or drinking.

In fact, Jesus even states that it has only been since the time of sin entering the world that God allows the adultery stipulation. This was not so in the beginning of time and that Moses only allowed divorce because peoples’ “heart were hardened.”

Bottom line: God does not want people to get a divorce. When two people get married and they make that marriage covenant with God, they basically become one flesh, just like it’s written in Genesis 2:24. And when you make a covenant with God, you better be serious because breaking that covenant can lead to serious repercussions! God even says, “Therefore, what I (God) have joined together, let no man put asunder.”

The marriage union is a very serious covenant in God’s eyes and should not be dissolved, especially for some of the trivial reasons people use today. In the case of someone who cusses or drinks, while those are terrible things, they can be corrected through counseling and therapy. We have to be willing to take that first step, though. I know that God wants us all to do whatever we can to keep the marriage covenant.

Remember, God sent His one and Only Son to die for our sins. He can forgive people who cuss and people who drink. If we can’t, then we diminish His death on the cross. Some sins are hard to overcome, believe me, I know! But, remember also what Paul wrote to the citizens of Philippi in the Book of Philippians, Chapter 4, verse 13: “I can do all things through Christ Jesus who gives me strength.”

Why are some people born with problems and God doesn’t help them?

That is a huge question and one that is asked by a lot of people. We really don’t know why God does some of the things He does…we just can’t comprehend His infinite mind or see the “big” picture. We can’t understand it because we’re limited in our thinking. Why does God let babies die? Why does God let earthquakes, tsunami’s or hurricanes kill hundreds of people? Why do some children have to be born with a disability? I honestly don’t know the answer to those questions.

But, I can tell you with one-hundred percent certainty that God is good. He can do no evil. He cannot sin. Not only is God good, He is good all the time. So, when God allows certain things to happen, it is in His good and perfect will. We may never understand it but we have to trust that God had a divine and righteous purpose for it.

Why did Satan tempt Adam and Eve?

So, that is a really awesome question!!! We know the story of how Satan appeared as a serpent and tempted Eve and she took a bite of the apple from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And the end result was that sin then entered the world. But, the big question is why it happened in the first place, right? Well, we also know why Satan did it…he wanted to rule Heaven and he felt that he could disrupt God’s unstoppable plan by bringing sin into the world. Satan has been battling God since the beginning and this was just another attack against God. But, what we really wonder is why did God allow it?

It’s important to remember that Satan is not God or the exact opposite of God. He is a created being, just like you and me. God created Satan. If God wanted to, He could defeat Satan with a simple thought, make him disappear forever and make all of us obedient to His will and be without sin. The problem then is that we’d all be like a bunch of robots, walking around chanting, “God is holy, holy, holy,” without giving it much thought.

God doesn’t want that. He wants us to love Him but He also gave us free choice to do so. He wants us to desire to have a relationship with Him and for us to recognize that we need Him. So, God allowed Satan to introduce sin into the world so that we would realize how badly we need a kind and loving God. When you seek out God and give yourself to Him despite Satan’s attempts to pull you away from God, it brings God great joy! Remember the parable of the Lost Sheep? God celebrates everytime a “lost” person finds Him. So, that’s why Satan tempted Adam and Eve…to try and stop God’s unstoppable plan by bringing sin into this world.

Why do people have to die?

That is a very awesome question! And, to find the answer, we have to go all the way back to the first book of the Old Testament, the Book of Genesis. Here’s the deal, when God first created the earth and created Adam and Eve, they were in a perfect relationship with God and they had no fear of dying. Life was fairly simple back then with very few rules…except one BIG rule:

“And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17)

Well, we all know what happened. Eve was tempted by the serpent and took a bite of the apple and then Adam took a bite of the apple and sin entered the world. And God was not happy about it. In fact, God puts a curse on the serpent and on Adam and Eve. To mankind God says this, “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you are returned to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19)

Our perfect relationship with God was broken and we were condemned to die. Even the New Testament reaffirms this curse in Romans 6:23 when it states, “For the wages of sin is death…” BUT, and here’s the good news!!! The rest of that verse says, “…but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus.”

Even though our physical bodies will eventually die, we are promised eternal life in Heaven WITH JESUS by accepting God’s gift of grace and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Probably one of the most quoted and well-known Bible verses is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son and whoever shall believe in Him shall not perish (die) but have eternal life.” But don’t forget the next line, which to me is just as important, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”

Even though every person will eventually die a physical death based on the sin that came into the world, those of us who are saved will have eternal life with Jesus in Heaven. While no one wants to die and we don’t want to see loved ones die, I want you to know that I am not scared of dying because I know where I am going. I just want to be able to stick around for a little while longer so that I can see my kids grow up, get married and maybe become a grandpa someday.

I want to tell you a funny story. A friend of mine’s grandmother loved Jesus so much and she knew, without a doubt, what awaited her when she died. So, when she was on her deathbed she was so happy that she was going to see Jesus soon that that’s all she could talk about. The she fell asleep, a little catnap so-to-speak, and then woke up. Here’s the funny part: She looked around the room, looked at my friend and actually said, “Oh, darn! Still here!” Can you believe that???

You know, even though he was sad when she eventually died, he knew that she was in heaven with his grandfather and with Jesus and it made him happy and gave him great comfort to know that she was there.

What would happen 2 da world if Satan turned [his heart] to God and became good??

Wow, that is a very interesting question! Do you realize that if there was no Satan, then there would be no evil or no temptation? If Satan became good again and became Lucifer, the archangel, there would be no wars, no hate, no jealously, no sin, period! That would be kind of cool, wouldn’t it?

What would we be like??? Would we be like robots just worshipping God without really understanding who God is? Would we know who Jesus is? Would there even be a Jesus??? I mean, if there was no sin, then there wouldn’t be a need for Jesus would there? Hmmm…

But, sadly, there is a Satan and he is a terrible, terrible being. He uses lies, doubt, distractions and evil to take our eyes off God. And, because there is a Satan, that’s why God sent us a Savior. God sent His one and only Son down to Earth to take all the sin of the world upon Him so that we wouldn’t die but that we could have eternal life with God in Heaven.

And, here’s sort of the weird part about this that kinda sounds kooky but it’s true: Satan exists so that we can have a personal relationship with God. Like I said earlier, if there was no Satan, we wouldn’t need Jesus and we’d all walk around like a bunch of robots not knowing God’s full greatness. But, because Satan shows us how weak we really are, we know we need Christ in our lives to overcome Satan’s attacks. And the only way to know Christ is to have a personal relationship with Him.

We need to accept Christ into our hearts and talk to Him every day through prayer and ask Him to help us from the evil one’s temptations. Remember when Jesus taught his disciple how to pray? It’s called the Lord’s Prayer and part of it, after acknowledging God and His greatness, is a request where we ask God to, “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.” Jesus knew Satan’s power and knew that we couldn’t battle Satan without God’s help. It was so important that he included it in His prayer.

That tells me that, as tough as I think I am, I can’t do it without God’s help. I need God in my life. I need Jesus, who died for me on that cross, to save me from Satan. And, the best part is…He will! All you have to do is ask Him and trust in Him and believe that He died for your sins and the sins of the world.

Why do we have wars and why can’t people just compromise?

Wars have been around since Satan battled God’s angels and was thrown out of Heaven along with a third of the angels that took his side. Wars are a result of sin.

Sin is a state we are born into and, although we try to overcome our sin nature by ourselves, we just can’t do it. That’s why Christ had to die for us. Only by His sacrifice was sin defeated.

And, one of the biggest sins is: PRIDE. When prideful, sinful people can’t get along or can’t agree, that’s when wars occur. They are just too stubborn and prideful to give in and compromise.

How come God loves the ones who sins?

It is because our God is a loving God. He has what's known as "agape" love for us...in fact, there really isn't an English translation for it...except to say that it is an unconditional love for us. He loves us completely and unconditionally.

We are His creation and we are fearfully and wonderfully made in His image (Psalm 139). What God hates is sin. We often say, "Hate the sin but love the sinner." Well, that's the way God is. God knows that we can never measure up to the level of perfection that Christ demonstrated. That's why He sent Jesus to us; to carry the weight of that sin. That doesn't mean there aren't consequences for sin. Think about it this way...your mom and dad love you unconditionally but they still discipline you when you do something wrong. It doesn't mean they don't love you; they are simply angry at the act of what you did. Your Heavenly Father is the same way.

How does God know how we feel when we're guilty if Jesus never sinned?

Excellent question!!! In order to understand God’s awesome abilities we have to expand our own imagination and remember that God is not like us. One of the reasons we have difficulty understanding God’s power is because we try and humanize God. It’s easier to picture Him if we think of Him to be like us.

But, God is so much greater than us. God is omniscient, which means He knows everything, is aware of everything and understands everything. He has a complete knowledge and perception of all things.

Don’t forget, God created the Earth and the universe and everything in it, including you and me. You and I are created in God’s image so everything you and I are capable of doing or thinking or feeling, God is capable of except to a much greater degree.

The fact that Jesus never sinned doesn’t mean God doesn’t know what sin is or the guilt associated with sin. Not only does He know what sin is, He hates it! God can’t even be in the presence of sin because He is so holy and perfect. Even before Adam and Eve took that bite from the apple, sin existed. Do you know who committed the first sin and do you know what that sin was?

It was an angel named Lucifer. Lucifer wasn’t just an angel though. He was God’s second-in-command (so to speak) and he was the most beautiful angel and the most intelligent angel in Heaven and was given a lot of power. But, do you know what happened to that angel? Lucifer became prideful and felt he could do a better job than God. The sin of pride entered into Heaven. Lucifer tried to take over but he lost and was cast out of Heaven. He also took a third of the angels with him. You may know Lucifer by his other name…Satan. And those angels are his demons.

God knows when we sin, He knows how we feel when we sin and He knows the guilt associated with sin. But, here’s the great news. God can and will forgive all sin. Not only does He forgive, but once you truly repent, He also forgets it. He’ll never, ever hold it against you. It’s like it never happened. I guess what I’m trying to say is, if God can forgive and forget then there is no reason to hold onto guilt about committing that sin. And that is AWESOME!!!

How come we can't see the face of God, but many people looked Jesus in the eye?

That is an awesome question! And it’s kind of a complicated question too! Here is some bad math to help explain the answer. Did you know that 1 + 1 + 1 = 1? What I am trying to show is that there is only one God but He appears in three different forms.

There is God, the Father; God, the Son; and God, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Bible clearly shows that no one has ever seen God, the Father. John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God, [the Father] but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.”

John 6:46 says, “No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father.”

In fact, even in the Old Testament, Moses could not look upon God. In Exodus 3:2, God appeared to Moses as a burning bush. In Exodus 19:9 and 24:5, God covers himself in a thick cloud and can only be heard.

But, the best example of God not showing His face (as God the Father) is from Exodus 33:20-23 where it says, “But, He said, ‘you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.’ Then the LORD said, ‘There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.’”

And do you want to know why that is? It is because we are sinful people and sin cannot be in the presence of the Father. Jesus was the only one who could look upon God because he was without sin. Bottom line, if we saw God in our sinful state, we would die because He is Holy, Righteous and Pure. He hid himself from Moses because He knew Moses would die if Moses saw Him.

One of the cool things is that the Bible says that the Glory of God was so pure and bright that, even from behind, it turned Moses’ skin and hair completely white. The Bible describes Moses’ face as completely radiant. In fact, Moses had to wear a veil when he was around people because of it.

So, that’s why we can’t see the face of God, the Father. No one has. BUT, a lot of people saw God, the Son. You see, Jesus is God but He is also a man. He came to us in human form to teach us and to set the example for us and to ultimately die for us. God can’t die but a man can. So Jesus was a man and had all the attribute of a human being, including being able to be seen by other people.

It’s a weird contradiction because you’d think you couldn’t look Jesus in the eye because He’s God and God doesn’t allow us to see Him…but, because He’s also man, Jesus let’s us see Him, feel Him and hear Him.