BIBLE  ANSWERS  ABOUT  GOD (This page was last reviewed and updated in April 2011)  How can I know that God is real?  Keep in mind that if there is a God he is Almighty, Eternal God and does not have to answer to us to prove his existence.  Nowhere does the Bible attempt to PROVE that God exists,  however the Bible does answer the existence question for us.  The existence of God is a matter of Faith.  Your Faith.  No one can have faith for you.  You either have faith yourself or you don't. You either choose to believe or you choose not to believe. Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God.  He that cometh to God must believe he exists and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."  But, you ask, How can I have such faith and believe in a God I can not see? The Bible Answer is found in Romans 10:17. "So then, faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God".  Our Bible is the Word of God.  When you hear it from others or read it out loud for yourself, the faith to believe God will come upon you, and you will know that he is real!!  You have God's word on it.  "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Heb 11:1) We have a free will to choose to either believe in God or not.   We can choose to believe that God does exist, or we can choose to deny there is a God.  But, remember, as with most choices there are consequences that will follow your decision.  The existence of God is not a new question.  Soon after Moses died the next generation of jews asked the same question. As they argued, Joshua made his decision clear.  He told the people. "Choose you this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve God".(Joshua 24:15)  When you make your own choice be sure it explains how we, and this universe around us, got here.  The writers of the Bible believe God exists, that he created us and all the world around us out of nothing - out of thin air!  "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Gen 1:1) God, and only he, could do it because he is God. If you choose to believe there is no God, then you have to explain how we and this world got here.  If we oozed up from some cosmic quagmire, then you will need to explain who created the quagmire. I am a natural born skeptic.  In college I struggled with questions about God.  I can tell you that the moment I chose to believe the Bible, that there is a God, and that he created me and loves me - God turned my light on!! Within an instant I knew I had made the right choice. God did it for me, he did it for Moses, he did it for David and he will do it for you. In Psalm 19:1 David said, "The heavens declare the glory of God and the earth showeth forth his handiwork", and again in Psalm 34:8, "Taste and see that God is good. Blessed are those who trust in him."  I made my choice and God blessed me. Have you made your choice?   Why should the existence of God be important to me? Because he is out there and holds in his hands the keys to both heaven and hell.  When we die we will end up going before this God, and we need to know more about him.   He holds the keys to our eternity, our eternal life as well as our eternal death, and it will be essential to each of us that the moment after our death he open the doors of heaven and not the gates of hell. How can I live for God?  No less than nine times in the Old Testament  God referred  to Israel, his people, the nation he brought out of Egypt with miracles, signs and wonders, as a stiff necked people not wanting to honor him.  God wanted their love and their honor.  What they wanted to give him was their cattle and their money. The prophet Micah asked the people, "Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or ten thousands of rivers of costly oil??  Or, should you give your first born?"(Micah 6:7)  Oh, what the people would not offer to pay off God. But, God said "No!!"  God does not need your money or your property. He already owns it all!! "I own the cattle upon a thousand hills!" (Ps 50:1)  I want you to love me first and then serve me second. "For I have shown thee, Oh man what is good, and what doeth the lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." (Micah 6:8) Do you love God? Are you walking with him or trying to buy him off with gifts and money??

Where did sin come from?Satan is the originator of sin in this world. Although there is honest discussion among good Bible scholars concerning whether we are the first or the second civilization to inhabit this earth, there is no disagreement that Satan had complete dominion over all the earth when it was originally created in Gen 1:1, and it was with Satan's sin (Isa 14:12-17) that the earth fell into chaos and became "without form, and void"(Gen 1:2).  Satan rose up with the sin of pride.  He said in his heart "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God...I will be like the Most High" (Isa 14:13-14).  It was with Satan's pride that sin first entered into our universe.  And, it was this same Satan, in the form of a serpent who brought mankind under the curse of sin in the Garden of Eden. (Gen 3:1-8) What does God mean when he says all of our "good works" will burn up like "wood,  hay and stubble"?  Chapter 18 of the Book of Acts tells of Paul's journey to Corinth, a city in Greece known for it's idolatry and wicked living. Later in his ministry Paul wrote and received letters from the church he established in Corinth.  In 1st Corinthians Paul answers questions concerning Godly Christian living.  Be careful to understand that the lessons and directions Paul shared with the Corinthian church had nothing to do with their salvation.  During his earlier visits this church listened to Paul, believed his report and trusted the finished work of Jesus Christ for their eternal life.  But, "What do we do now????" asked the Corinthians. How shall we live our Christian life in such a corrupt and evil world?   "Christian living" encouraged  by Paul will never  attain salvation, but once we have believed God and trusted Jesus Christ we recognize that God really does love us, and the awesome price Christ paid to give eternal life to those who believe, we, as Christians, want to live our life pleasing to God. And so, the newly saved Christians in the Corinthian church asked Paul, "What can we do to live our life to please the God who gave so much for us?"   Paul encouraged the church to "abide in all good works" (2 Cor 9:8), but reminded them that only those good works that were built upon their salvation thru Christ will endure and be rewarded in heaven.  Any other works, as good as they may seem, which are done to please man or gain favor with the folks on earth will  have no value when we get to heaven. The good works we do as a result of our love for Christ will endure the test of fire as gold, silver and precious stones, but the works we have done to please man, yes, they may may reap a reward down here, but that's all we get.  When we get to heaven they will be burned up as so much "wood, hay and stubble".  Ask yourself this question. When I do a good deed is it to elevate myself in the eyes of my fellow man? If so you have your reward and these works will be burned up. Or, is the motivation for my good deed based on my love for God and my wanting to be a help to others because of so much Jesus has already done  for me. These would be good works of gold, silver and precious stones. Only these will endure.

Suppose there is no God?  If there is no God, as some folks believe, then I suppose this life is all there is.  In that case my suggestion is go for the gusto, get all you can, because there is no "here-after" after this here.  No need to worry about a final accounting, or anyone to judge how did we behave in the life we have. There have been cultures and societies that have believed this in the past.  Each has decayed into a miserable state, and at the bottom of their pit each has reached out to some kind of god. "Suppose there is no God" is an interesting party question for the more sophisticated among us, but it might be better to look at your life, the things you do, the activities you pursue, the friends you keep, the things that mean the most to you, and ask yourself, "Suppose there is a God!!"  If God does exist and  he looks down on my life what does he think?  Remember, the Bible says, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Rom 3:22) "We all like sheep have gone astray and gone every one of us in his or her own way." (Isa 53:6)  The Bible says that no matter how good we are we can never be "good enough". I  believe that I have sinned, come short of God's standard for me,  and I need a savior to make me right with God. Thank God, He loves me enough, despite my short coming, to send someone to do for me what I could not do for myself.  God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, down here to earth, to suffer and die and PAY THE PENALTY FOR MY SIN  so that by trusting in His sacrifice, when I die, God can find me worthy to live with him for eternity in heaven.

Coming Soon!!!  Does God send sinners to Hell?? Do Christians believe in one God or three?? If someone is faithful to their own religion won't that satisfy God?? Isn't there more than one way to get to God?? Why do men worship idols?? Why does God hate abortion??