Answering Questions About God
This page is dedicated to answering Questions About God. Welcome to the question and comment section of Heaven Coach. The subject of heaven is either the most important thing in life or it is just wasting your time and mine. I just hope answering questions helps you to be smarter about life and its purpose. This page offers a place where I will “immediately” respond to your input in the section below.
Of course, I will not share your e-mail address with anyone!!
If you request, I will not show your question on this page or show the question and answer without any reference to your name – nothing at all about you!!
Alan
A Little Background About Questions
A few comments about questions in relation to God, to religion, to life.
> So many times people will not ask the question they really want to ask
> Even more frequently, the question is not about what they must do, but about what they can do and still get into heaven. Can I steal just so much, can I lie just this much, isn’t it perfectly natural to be lustful to some extent? Although there are no bad questions if you are sincere, there is an attitude or lack of desire to find the truth if these answers come back in an unacceptable way. Questions in relation to God ultimately need to be helping you arrive at the truth. So all questions are valued, some questions show the maturity of the person asking in terms of how far they need to come to reach the truth. The example to demonstrate this will be, how much can I lie and still go to heaven?
The first thing we can say is that God does not define specific sins in terms of degree. Lying is just like all sins inasmuch as God does not accept such people. It is probably true that all people have lied if they have lived “a while.” Lying in fact is one thing that is particularly disturbing to God and God indicates such throughout His word. Look at these verses:
Proverbs 6.16-19
16 These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil,
19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.
Proverbs 12.22
22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord,
But those who deal truthfully are His delight.
Revelation 21.8
8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil,
19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.
But those who deal truthfully are His delight.
Of course, there is the gospel message and you can be forgiven. Repentance is part of the process needed to be forgiven and that means you will put those things out of your life which are sinful. Lying, as we are discussing must stop. As you continue to seek answers to your questions about God with a good heart you will begin to understand the seriousness of God and that all the ideas of humankind about God have no value. As strong as God’s love is, likewise His anger is as strong. His love is shown in giving His Son and His anger is for those who reject His Son. Even though the bible is clear about this, many groups ignore God’s anger as it is not enticing to many people even to the point of denying the god of the bible. Of course, those who are unwilling to trust God and give their life for Christ and the gospel are exactly those who God wants to expose in their attitude and choices and as always He accomplishes His objective.
Questions and Answers
Question 1:
Obviously, many people will come to the wrong conclusion about life (or we might say there will be many different conclusions) and yet they are sincere, doing the best they can. How will God manage these individuals who never come to a knowledge of the truth?
Answer 1:
If you want to understand God correctly, it is necessary to stop thinking in terms of human perspectives. The things we know about the unseen world or the spiritual world or the next life are only correctly understood if God reveals them. The question is full of how humankind reasons. It is nonetheless, not a bad question – there are no bad questions. The answer however from God is not one that compensates for sincerity, that is considerate of all the potential difficulties in coming to the truth. We see that each person will be judged by the things written in the word of God. We see that there is no other route to heaven except by the Son. God will manage all people the same way and not by some humanistic idea, which enables people to miss the mark and still succeed. This means the gospel message is what every person needs. Now, I would be foolish to answer any other way and yet God in His infinite wisdom has compensated for the sins of humankind in bringing Christ. He has compensated for those who lived before Christ in Romans in such a way that the cross “goes backwards” to those who lived as Roman 2 describes. We know God sees infants as innocent as well as young children although there is no specific age of accountability as God knows the heart of each person. Those compensations we know of in the scriptures and similarly we know God is not a respecter of persons. He looks at all people the same and each person’s sin differentiates them for eternity. Since all commit sin, the only answer is Jesus, who suffered and died for your sins. This is not the answer that an enabling, willful, selfish and immoral world wants to know. Consequently, few understand God and what life is all about. It is exactly why Jesus said the world hated Him and would hate His followers. It is why Jesus said He came to bring a sword and not peace. The sword would even mean the separation of families along the lines of those who would live for Christ and those who would choose the world. God’s plan is perfect to fulfill His purpose and not to fulfill your purpose. You can align with God and succeed in life. A person should not expect to face God and plan to provide excuses at judgment. In life we blame, we excuse, but in death at judgment there is no trial, just a sentencing. Your life was the trial and if you die outside Christ, there is only condemnation. There is obviously from scripture a grave responsibility to live seeking God, seeking truth …… and who has the time? (the beginning of excuses).
Answer 1:
If you want to understand God correctly, it is necessary to stop thinking in terms of human perspectives. The things we know about the unseen world or the spiritual world or the next life are only correctly understood if God reveals them. The question is full of how humankind reasons. It is nonetheless, not a bad question – there are no bad questions. The answer however from God is not one that compensates for sincerity, that is considerate of all the potential difficulties in coming to the truth. We see that each person will be judged by the things written in the word of God. We see that there is no other route to heaven except by the Son. God will manage all people the same way and not by some humanistic idea, which enables people to miss the mark and still succeed. This means the gospel message is what every person needs. Now, I would be foolish to answer any other way and yet God in His infinite wisdom has compensated for the sins of humankind in bringing Christ. He has compensated for those who lived before Christ in Romans in such a way that the cross “goes backwards” to those who lived as Roman 2 describes. We know God sees infants as innocent as well as young children although there is no specific age of accountability as God knows the heart of each person. Those compensations we know of in the scriptures and similarly we know God is not a respecter of persons. He looks at all people the same and each person’s sin differentiates them for eternity. Since all commit sin, the only answer is Jesus, who suffered and died for your sins. This is not the answer that an enabling, willful, selfish and immoral world wants to know. Consequently, few understand God and what life is all about. It is exactly why Jesus said the world hated Him and would hate His followers. It is why Jesus said He came to bring a sword and not peace. The sword would even mean the separation of families along the lines of those who would live for Christ and those who would choose the world. God’s plan is perfect to fulfill His purpose and not to fulfill your purpose. You can align with God and succeed in life. A person should not expect to face God and plan to provide excuses at judgment. In life we blame, we excuse, but in death at judgment there is no trial, just a sentencing. Your life was the trial and if you die outside Christ, there is only condemnation. There is obviously from scripture a grave responsibility to live seeking God, seeking truth …… and who has the time? (the beginning of excuses).
Question 2:
What is the meaning of life, why do I exist and is there anything I need to do?
Answer 2:
This is a very deep series of questions and yet there are simple, short answers to each and the evidence is abundant.
First, what is the meaning of life? Life is about the soul and ultimately about absolutely nothing else. It is about the battle between good and evil and your choices will determine the final outcome of your existence.
Second, why do I exist? You exist because you are a creation of God for His purpose. That purpose was for you to succeed in life and be eternally with Him. However, God does not accept just anyone, but is very selective and you need to be proven worthy and this is done during your lifetime. See, Why did God create humankind?
Third, is there anything I need to do? Assuming you mean anything I need to do to be successful, then yes there are things you must do. Peter was asked, following his discourse to the Jews regarding God’s plan in Acts 2, “What must we do?” The answer given then has not changed and that is what you must do. If you do that you are placed into the kingdom by the Lord and if you life faithfully you can succeed in life.
First, what is the meaning of life? Life is about the soul and ultimately about absolutely nothing else. It is about the battle between good and evil and your choices will determine the final outcome of your existence.
Second, why do I exist? You exist because you are a creation of God for His purpose. That purpose was for you to succeed in life and be eternally with Him. However, God does not accept just anyone, but is very selective and you need to be proven worthy and this is done during your lifetime. See, Why did God create humankind?
Third, is there anything I need to do? Assuming you mean anything I need to do to be successful, then yes there are things you must do. Peter was asked, following his discourse to the Jews regarding God’s plan in Acts 2, “What must we do?” The answer given then has not changed and that is what you must do. If you do that you are placed into the kingdom by the Lord and if you life faithfully you can succeed in life.
Question 3:
Is there a place other than heaven or hell after death?
Answer 3:
No, there is no other place. It is the wisdom of men and women to invent such a place and it amounts to no more than a false hope. There is no scripture that supports anything other than your failure or success in the next life. I once heard a Catholic priest explain purgatory to me as something logical. He said, since it is obvious that very few people will live in accordance with God’s will, but will stumble here and there THAT there must be a place where people can work off their bad deeds. God’s word makes it very clear that there is no such place and human wisdom cannot know of such a place, so such a place is only the hope of people. It is indeed evil to teach such since it gives a false hope telling people they can live in a way less than God requires. Please read how religions have seriously deceived the world in the matter of second chances.
Question 4:
How much are we like God?
Answer 4:
God has designed us in His image and that means there are direct and powerful ways we are like God, although the degree to which we are like God is infinitesimal. Nonetheless the basics elements of God and man are similar – for instance we are eternal, we are creative and we each have a unique personality. In revealing this to us in Genesis it was to differentiate us from other of His living creation. Although we are eternal and that means we have a spirit, God for the purpose of the test has locked us in a physical body, in a physical universe and in a time existence. At death this all changes as our existence continues. In the framework of those original characteristics – being created in the image of God, we have the ability to become something much more wonderful or something much more undesirable.
Read, God is not a man.
Read, God is not a man.
Question 5:
Is there a conspiracy against religion, against God in today’s world?
Answer 5:
The world today is different than in the past because news travels so fast. Ideas about God can begin and be well received in a short period of time. This is the biggest difference between now and the past. A good piece of rhetoric can quickly gain popularity. Nonetheless, people accept the many ideas about God because they want to believe a certain way and with a little encouragement, a little logic they embrace new doctrines. There is no formal conspiracy against God, but there are many people who are very vocal in there stand against God. Unfortunately, there are only a few with the enthusiasm for God. The latter is the larger problem. You would be right that some major influences (like the mass media) do share a dedication to making those who believe in God, namely the God of the bible look foolish. It could be the news programs or television or the movies. The shift has occurred over the last 30-40 years from a time when God was respected and accepted to recent generations who reject the idea of God as without merit.
For the most part people are aggressively rejecting God because of all the religious havoc, including murders, deceit and just plain cruelty that have been associated with religion. The mistake is that God had nothing to do with the religions of humankind and in fact strongly rejects those who “speak for God” without authority. The world is in dire straits in relation to the only things that really matters, namely salvation, their souls, heaven. It is indeed a world without God headed towards an eternity without God. Yet it does not need to be for YOU as you can learn from the word of God.
For the most part people are aggressively rejecting God because of all the religious havoc, including murders, deceit and just plain cruelty that have been associated with religion. The mistake is that God had nothing to do with the religions of humankind and in fact strongly rejects those who “speak for God” without authority. The world is in dire straits in relation to the only things that really matters, namely salvation, their souls, heaven. It is indeed a world without God headed towards an eternity without God. Yet it does not need to be for YOU as you can learn from the word of God.
Question 6:
It seems the world has finally figured out there is no God. More and more people are becoming atheist. I suspect even more have gone from religion to join the ranks of agnostic. Do you think anyone will believe in God once the old traditions have died out?
Answer 6:
The previous answer pointed to a world without God and the world is headed down that path. However, the world has, in general, always been without God. The religions that were invented by humankind and that is most all of them gave the appearance of a godly world. Of course it is no surprise that eventually those groups of little or no substance would weaken and gradually not be able to retain members or grow their numbers. You said, “It seems the world has finally figured out there is no God.” You are right when you say it seems and you can read all about “how nothing is as it seems.”
There is only one way to come to spiritual understanding and that is if God reveals it and you discover it in the word of truth of the gospel.God points out the outcome from what SEEMS RIGHT to humankind.
Proverbs 14.12
12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Few of the people who carry around their bibles teach the truth about God and life and thus eventually they crumble. It is possible that those pleasing God is and will continue to grow just as they did in the first century. They are hated and spoken against by all including those who carry around their bibles and in the early days of the church they were viciously murdered. Out of those terrible times for God’s people arose the many human made religions called Christian and they were more acceptable to the world. Those religions without the coercion, the indoctrination eventually falter. The Christian religions that claim to be following the bible offer a message of hope without much effort to achieve heaven and they remain attractive. However, in a world where their children are exposed to continual doubt and supposed evidence of God’s non-existence there is also a weakening. Yes, there will always be some who will continue to believe in God, who will give their life to gain it, who realize the importance of the soul. In fact, the truth is very powerful and since God’s word is perfect in conversion there is the opportunity for many to find the truth. There could be more than ever before who know that God exists and is the God of the bible and follow the way of truth, the way of God’s Son to eternal glory.
Question 7:
What does God want of me?
Answer 7:
This is a good question and if you are sincere, you have asked the right question. Those who believe in God often want to know what God can do for them. Many want evidence that God exists and really want a certain type of evidence as though they are requiring it of God.
God wanted something from Adam and Eve, something from Cain and Abel, something from Abraham, something from King Saul, something from Naaman and even wanted something from His Son. He wanted the same thing from each of these and today, He wants the same from you. He wants your obedience and it is ALWAYS YOUR CHOICE.
Jesus, obedient to the Father unto death and now the author of YOUR salvation if you obey Him.
Hebrews 5.8,9
8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him
God’s wants you to obey the gospel and continue to obey Him throughout your life. There is a reward – you will receive the crown of life, eternity with God in heaven. It is beyond what you can imagine as the very best possible thing. There are those who will do all that God says and it will affect your life and usually the life you wanted. In fact, those who love God will want to do all He commands and could not imagine picking and choosing, but diligently seek to do everything a risen Savior requires. The doctrine of humankind’s so-called Christian churches is to accept Jesus as their personal savior and receive salvation. That doctrine holds no water and is not the truth. It is difficult to understand how a person can claim Jesus as savior and not be seeking to do all He commands.
God wanted something from Adam and Eve, something from Cain and Abel, something from Abraham, something from King Saul, something from Naaman and even wanted something from His Son. He wanted the same thing from each of these and today, He wants the same from you. He wants your obedience and it is ALWAYS YOUR CHOICE.
Jesus, obedient to the Father unto death and now the author of YOUR salvation if you obey Him.
Hebrews 5.8,9
8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him
God’s wants you to obey the gospel and continue to obey Him throughout your life. There is a reward – you will receive the crown of life, eternity with God in heaven. It is beyond what you can imagine as the very best possible thing. There are those who will do all that God says and it will affect your life and usually the life you wanted. In fact, those who love God will want to do all He commands and could not imagine picking and choosing, but diligently seek to do everything a risen Savior requires. The doctrine of humankind’s so-called Christian churches is to accept Jesus as their personal savior and receive salvation. That doctrine holds no water and is not the truth. It is difficult to understand how a person can claim Jesus as savior and not be seeking to do all He commands.
Question 8:
Catholicism makes many claims and appears to be the first organized body of Christians. Yet, their history is one of treachery and to this day they are consistently an immoral group in terms of their priests. They are an on-going never ending rule making and rule changing hierarchy that for some strange reason people follow as though their directives were coming directly from God. I was raised in a very Catholic family and believed every word of what I was taught and never questioned anything. Even today, when I doubt everything about Catholicism, I still tend to believe it was what God intended. I think it is because I know of nothing better. Can you help me?
Answer 8:
Yes, there is help and such that you will no longer wonder if Catholicism is what God intended. Additionally, you will know with 100% certainty God’s intention for the world. One of the hardest things for anyone to break free from is the indoctrination, especially if it happened when you were very young. There is a certain amount of fear of questioning in the early indoctrination and in the case of Islam it continues throughout a person’s life. Catholicism was that way in the first almost 1500 years of their existence (assuming their beginning around 350 AD). The earliest days of Catholicism were filled with murder and torture for those who questioned. The continuous rampage of murder in the name of God was going strong into the 16th century and one example would be the pope Gregory VIII massacre of the Protestant Huguenots in 1557. In one day over 10,000 Huguenots were murdered and the pope commissioned a medal commemorating that day referred to as the Saint Bartholomew’s day massacre. See below:
The terror would continue in some places in the world on into the 19th century. The end of the violence would come because the world leaders would no longer tolerate the rule from Rome. Today, Catholicism has counted on indoctrinating the young, creating a long series of incredible miracles and threats of eternal loss if a person is not Catholic.
Now, I will make this a brief answer and let you follow the sources many of which are in Heaven Coach or Catholics Question websites and also in depth in the book “What I Life All About?”
Catholicism was not the first organized group of Christians, but that occurred in the first century. Catholicism tries to associate themselves with the first century church, but they are in no way like the church Christ started. That church was first of all Spiritual with the Lord adding to it when a person obeyed the gospel. There were also independent local groups consisting of those who obeyed the gospel with a mission and an organization. A local church did not exercise authority over any other local church. This was God’s way. The church was spiritual and followed the word of God which was completed late in the first century. Every aspect of the church is spiritual, which in the case of worship means worshiping in spirit and truth. If we look at what Paul told the Athenians in Acts 17 you can better understand God and thus worship.
Acts 17.24-27
24 “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.
25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.
26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
God has never allowed humankind to make the rules, but has delivered the message in different ways throughout history. Now, we have what God intended, the reconciliation through Christ and how to take advantage of what God accomplished in Christ. These things did not come from humankind and what God delivered is simple, albeit sacrificial in terms of the effort required by each person.
I do not believe there is anything further from God or perhaps more despised by God than Roman Catholicism. Even the religion of Islam had Mohammed looking at the evils of Christianity (really Catholicism at that time) and believing that could not be God. Nonetheless, he would also desire the control that Catholicism wielded and create another violent, murderous and feared organization. The growth of Protestantism in response to the evils of Catholicism was bound to occur as people looked for the truth of God. They would find nothing of Roman Catholicism in the scriptures and yet maintained some of its teachings and carelessly handled the scriptures. They never looked to the 1st century church where they could find truth. Thus even Roman Catholicism was instrumental in Protestantism mishandling of scriptures. Despite all this there is truth and there is salvation and the only question is how bad do YOU want heaven. You can find assurance in the gospel message and no other place.
Some pages that might help are:
Catholicism’s Inconceivable Deception
Conversions of the New Testament
Is the Catholic church built on a strong foundation?
Question 9:
Is it true that God plans to bring an end to the world? I thought Christians believe in a rapture and thus we will all know that God is real and we can prepare by living better through what will be tough times. This is all very confusing can you help?
Answer 9:
Yes, God is going to bring an end to the world, to everything physical, to everything that is seen. He will even destroy the works therein. There will be no warning and indeed there is no rapture as some refer to it. Christ will appear in the sky and take those who are His with Him in the sky. First the dead “in Christ” and then those who are alive “in Christ.” The others will go to the judgment to receive their condemnation. It will not be a judging, but a sentencing. God knows the life and heart of every person and there will be no discussion. The scriptures teach, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God and Paul said knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. Where you might ask is God’s love? God’s love is on the cross and you rejected Jesus and His covenant. As strong as God’s love so is His wrath against those who rejected His Son.
It is true as you say that the end of the world is confusing, but only because humankind has made it difficult. There is nothing difficult about what was just presented as the end of the world. I have patiently (I think) gone step by step in presenting the scriptural case for the end of the world in rebuttal to all the nonsense in the “End of The World.” It is serious because the end will come when least expected, everything will be going on like always. A day like today or tomorrow and then finally every knee will bow and terror will grip each individual except those who are indeed in Christ. Many live today thinking all is well in their acceptance of Christ and yet few of those have obeyed the gospel and many who have will fall short of what God required. It will be a day of FEW successes and many, many, many failures. This is what Jesus told taught in Matthew and (if you are honest with yourself) you realize that God asks a great deal. So many hope that it would not be necessary to lose their life for Christ and the gospel in order to gain their life.
We do not know when Christ will return and thus we need to get on the right track and live life very seriously as God requires. People who have invented these complex theories of wars, earthquakes and a variety of signs of the end. There is a 1000 year reign of Christ on earth and the importance of Jerusalem and a hundred of other things involved with the end and all bring confusion in their deceit. Those purveyors lies and those who follow them need to be living for Christ and they do not even know how to receive forgiveness of sins. It is unbelievable! That last day will bring unfathomable regret largely for the selfish pride that closed their minds to the truth.
It is true as you say that the end of the world is confusing, but only because humankind has made it difficult. There is nothing difficult about what was just presented as the end of the world. I have patiently (I think) gone step by step in presenting the scriptural case for the end of the world in rebuttal to all the nonsense in the “End of The World.” It is serious because the end will come when least expected, everything will be going on like always. A day like today or tomorrow and then finally every knee will bow and terror will grip each individual except those who are indeed in Christ. Many live today thinking all is well in their acceptance of Christ and yet few of those have obeyed the gospel and many who have will fall short of what God required. It will be a day of FEW successes and many, many, many failures. This is what Jesus told taught in Matthew and (if you are honest with yourself) you realize that God asks a great deal. So many hope that it would not be necessary to lose their life for Christ and the gospel in order to gain their life.
We do not know when Christ will return and thus we need to get on the right track and live life very seriously as God requires. People who have invented these complex theories of wars, earthquakes and a variety of signs of the end. There is a 1000 year reign of Christ on earth and the importance of Jerusalem and a hundred of other things involved with the end and all bring confusion in their deceit. Those purveyors lies and those who follow them need to be living for Christ and they do not even know how to receive forgiveness of sins. It is unbelievable! That last day will bring unfathomable regret largely for the selfish pride that closed their minds to the truth.