Q.1 What makes you believe that Christianity is the one true religion?

There are several reasons why Christians believe that Jesus is the ONLY way to God… The first is that Jesus claimed to be the only way to God. The whole foundation of Christianity rests upon the deity of Jesus Christ and His claims of being the Son of God, the Messiah. Not one recognized religious leader, not Moses, Paul, Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius, etc., have ever claimed to be God. Jesus is the only religious leader who ever claimed to be deity and the only individual to have successfully convinced a great portion of the world that He is God. He said in John 10:30 "I and my Father are one." Jesus also said in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Why? Because man needs a Savior. Christianity does not rest upon a philosophy but upon the very person Jesus Christ. He alone is salvation! The name Jesus means "Savior" and the name Christ is a derivative of the Greek word "Messiah" which means "anointed one". When people addressed Jesus as He came toward them, what they were saying was… "here comes Savior, the Messiah". How much more obvious can it be?

JESUS CHRIST WAS DIRECTLY REFERED TO AS GOD
John 1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ
Heb 1:8 But about the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
Heb 1:10 He also says, "In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
Rom 9:5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
1 John 5:20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true--even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

JESUS RECEIVED WORSHIP AS GOD
Mat 14:33 Then those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
Mat 28:9 Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshipped him.
John 5:21-23 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
Heb 1:6 And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."

Our God humbled himself and came down to our level, paid the ultimate price for our sin, and gave us eternal life. Phil 2:7-11 says that Jesus "…made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death-- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Christians believe that Jesus was 100% man and 100% God while he walked the earth, He was perfect in nature and was sinless unto death… that’s why He was the perfect atonement for sin! 1 John 4:10 says "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." And in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.."

Finally, another reason we believe that Christianity is the one true way to God is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. After Jesus was crucified and died, He rose from the dead, conquering death and hell, and lives right now as we speak. Through Him, we have everlasting life! Jesus says in Revelation 1:18 "I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hell." Christianity is the only religion that claims an empty tomb for its founder. No other religion has ever claimed a resurrection of its leader. (Josh McDowell) In his book, The Resurrection and modern thought, W.J Sparrow writes, "If it be asked how the resurrection of Christ is a proof of His being the Son of God, it may be answered, first, because He rose by His own power. He had power to lay down His life, and He had power to take it back up again." Jesus said in John 10:18 "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." All of this, the deity of Christ and the resurrection of Christ must bring us to a place of asking ourselves, "How can anyone say that "Jesus was a Prophet or a great teacher?" If Jesus was a prophet, then what he prophesied is that He Himself was The Son of God!" If Jesus is not who He says He is, then how can anyone say He was a great teacher or a prophet? Anyone who says Jesus was a great teacher or prophet without taking into account His powerful words and claims to being God has made a huge mistake! Either Jesus was who He says He is (The Son of God) or He is a liar and a lunatic! Jesus considered who men believed Him to be of fundamental importance. (Josh McDowell) Jesus asked His disciple in Matthew 16:15 "But what about you?"… "Who do you say I am?" His disciple Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Mat.16:16). Just as Peter made his choice, we must make our choice also… How about you? "Who do you say Jesus is?"

"You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit on Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." C.S. Lewis

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Q.2 If there really is a God and he is so loving, why is there so much pain & suffering, chaos & destruction in the world?

The Bible tells us in John 3:19 "This is the verdict: Light (Jesus) has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." The reason this world is in such disarray is because man chose his own way (darkness) over God’s way (light). This is called sin. Sin is choosing our will instead of God’s will and it carries with it terrible consequences. The Bible tells us in Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death..." that has proven itself to be true. If there is evil going on somewhere it's probably attached to some form of greed or lust. Jesus said "the love of money is the root of all evil."

We need to realize that the culprit here is not God but man. It is men who in their own selfishness and for the love of money, rob, kill, steal, and destroy. It was men who out of ignorance for the sake of the almighty dollar and furthering "technology" contaminated our waters by pouring tons of sewage, waste, toxins, and chemicals into rivers and oceans, and polluted our skies with their industries and automobiles. What about starvation, the fact that children in parts of this world starve to death while other nations gorge themselves into obesity. Hey... It's just an observation.

However, terrible things do happen and are brought upon us against our will. But God promises in His word that He will bless and prosper the Nation that loves Him and serves Him... Sometimes God has to bring disaster or calamity to turn our attention His way. People die... that brings to our attention the reality of death and eternity.

Is it right for us to call God to account for all the tradgedy in the world? Why do we try and make God appear just in our own eyes when it’s us who need to be made just in His eyes? But God made a way so that we could be freed from sin and it’s consequences. The Bible tells us in John 3:17 "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son."

Actually, this world is a cruel place, but it’s because of the choices people do and don’t make. Even when God himself came to this earth to show us a perfect example of love, we didn’t recognize him… instead, we killed Him.

"Stop and think for a moment. God’s holy Son died for the world. The sinless One suffered a criminal’s death. He bore all our sins on the cross. The Righteous Lamb died for foul sinners. God Almighty paid the price for our crimes. We sinned; He died. We were guilty; He was punished. We deserved death; He gave us His life. We rejected Him; He accepted us. What an incredible message. It seems far too good to be true." Michael L. Brown

Christians believe it is true. God sent His Son into this world to save mankind from all the sin and destruction we are seeing today. The only way this world could possibly change is if men see their dilemma, that we are sinners in need of a Savior, change our ways and choose God’s ways. God does not lie… We reap what we sow.

Why does God allow it all though? Because He’s given us a free will to make choices. He wants us to choose to love Him. If we choose instead to reject Him, we end up choosing our own way. Our way always leads to sin and the wages of sin is death. God is waiting for us to surrender to Him. Until we do we are lost and calamity will find us. Sometimes God will allow bad things to happen in order to get our attention, like a rebellious child who is punished… the parent wants to save the child from destruction so discipline is necessary. If a Father loves His child, He will discipline. God wants us to give us good things in life, Every good and perfect gift comes from Him! But His ultimate desire is to save your soul. He will go to any extent to bring you to salvation… even if it means bringing you to the end of your rope… however that may be! Maybe you are at the end of your rope… are you fed up with life and all it’s upsets? Have you tried it all, seen it all, done it all, yet still find there is an emptiness inside? Call out to Jesus, pour your heart out to Him and He will save you!

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Q.3 Was Christianity the first religion? Were there not other eastern religions and philosophers on the earth before Jesus came?

The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ always was. He is the beginning and the end! Jesus is referred to as "The Living Word", and in John 1:1-4 we read, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men" Revelation 13:8 talks about the "Lamb" who was "slain before the foundations of the earth". This is evidence that God’s purpose for sending Christ was planned before creation. Therefore, Jesus was with God in creation and has always existed as One with God. Christianity did not begin with the birth of Jesus Christ!

Christianity does not only entail the teachings of the New Testament. We preach the whole counsel of God… that includes the Old Testament. In fact, the Old Testament points to Jesus Christ; it is filled with messianic prophecy. Jesus said in Luke 24:44 "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." The coming of Christ was first prophesied when God spoke this to Satan after the fall of man in Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (6500B.C.) Who is He here? Jesus Christ is He who crushed Satan’s head through his work on the cross… "He came to defeat the works of the devil" (Hebrews 2:14). God made a Covenant through Abraham in 2066 B.C. Here it is in Genesis 12:2, 3 "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Explained in Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." Check out this one, written 700 years before Christ came!!! Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel. Emmanuel means "God with us", hence, Jesus. Read Isaiah 53 sometime… it is an explicit description of the crucifixion of Jesus.

Jesus said in Revelation 1:8 "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end… which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."

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Q.4 How could a loving God send people to hell?

"…outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Hell is God’s wrath on sin, and it's horrendous description is a perfect depiction of just how much God hates sin. Any person who rejects God’s grace and chooses their own way, will serve the sentence for their own sin. The sentence is eternal separation from God, in hell.

Hell makes sense when one considers the perfect law of a holy God. Just as the law of gravity is unforgiving and shows no mercy... so is the LAW of God. The law requires a punishment for sin - that punishment is Hell. That is why we need the grace and mercy of God. He is altogether Holy and Just. All at once He is a merciful Savior and a ruthless Judge. Weather we face Him as a Judge or a Savior is dependent upon Weather or not we choose to repent and receive His grace in this lifetime.

Matthew 18:14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

God made every provision possible for man. Yes, God knew in advance, before the foundations of the earth were laid that man would fall and that hell would be the punishment. But He also knew that He would have to send His Son Jesus to die a horrible death in our place. Jesus took our punishment so we could avoid hell. He did all this to prove His love for us. Please don't reject God's love! He gives grace to the humble but opposes the proud. Please humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and throw yourself upon His mercy so that you will escape the wrath to come!

Revelation 20:14-15 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

If you want to escape hell, you must acknowledge Christ as Savior and surrender your life over to Him as Lord. Forgiveness for sin can only come through the blood of Jesus Christ. Many ask the question, "If God is ‘all-forgiving’ why do we have to choose anything? Isn’t his forgiveness automatic? Consider this… In order to be forgiven, there must be something we need to be forgiven of. In order to receive forgiveness, we must ask for forgiveness. God wants us to simply humble ourselves in His sight and admit we are sinners in need of a Savior! After all, He humbled Himself, came down to our level and took the punishment for our sin! What an arrogant, proud, and haughty man it would take to refuse to lower himself and ask God forgiveness. God gives grace to the humble but He opposes the proud. That’s why Jesus said "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven". Mat 18:3-4

Imagine if you had been brought before the court of law on charges that you committed 3 counts of murder. There is overwhelming evidence against you and you are sentenced to life without parole, or even worse… death! All of a sudden, the doors to the court room fly open and a man yells, "Let Him Go Free! I will pay the penalty for him!" That’s what Jesus did for every one of us. But like every covenant God makes with man, He always does His part, and we must do our part also. Our part is to admit we are sinners and receive His Mercy. Mercy is undeserved forgiveness. Will you receive His Mercy today?

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Q.5 What about the people in isolated areas who never heard about Jesus? Is it fair that they should go to hell if they do not believe?

There is something inside every person that yearns to know our true purpose, which is to know our Creator, the Living God. God has given all of us the ability to know right from wrong. His Law has been written on our hearts. When we violate that law, the Spirit of God convicts us. That's where the ability to decipher right from wrong come from? Likewise, God is drawing us to Himself by His Spirit. He wants us to know Him, He is not trying to evade us. But our sinful nature and darkened state cause us to resist and rebel. God has done everything necessary to prove His love to us and to make His truth known to us and He will do the same for every person on this green earth. Jesus came to the world as a humble servant to save mankind from sin and death. He demonstrated His power through signs and wonders and showed us how to love those who hate us. He reached out to the oppressed and gave to the poor. He showed mercy to the adulteress and he socialized with sinners. Though perfect in love and guilty of no crime, He went to the cross and suffered a cruel, violent death that we deserved. And He did it all to prove His love to us. What else must God do to win our hearts? There is little time for us in which we must make our decision to accept Him as Savior and follow Him as Lord. "The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized in the lifetime of the opportunity." God is just! Everyone will have a chance to hear the gospel and repent. Just think… You who are reading this now… this is your opportunity to know Christ if you want to. He’s reaching out to you with His message of love. Please don’t put this off till tomorrow, tomorrow is a word found only in a fool’s calander. No one knows how much time they have till death comes knocking. As the scripture states, No one is without excuse because God is clearly evidenced in our surroundings.

The Bible tells us in Romans 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Please don't harden yourself against God with the notion that He doesn't care about people in remote areas. Your responsible for your own souls and God is reaching out to you in love this very moment. Everyone will stand before God and answer for themselves... what will your excuse be?

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Mat 7:13-14