Thread: How do you know the Christian God is the right God?
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How do you know the Christian God is the right God?
Posted : 1 Apr, 2015 05:04 AM
I am confused by some things in the Christian faith.
1. some of the ''Christians'' I have met have treated me the worst out of all people. I am a nice person and didn't deserve to be treated that way. I treat others with kindness, and would expect the same in return.
2. Does God make the rules? It seems awfully harsh that our sins would be so bad that he would *have* to send his son on a cross to die for our sins. Like, is it really that hard to forgive us? humans are somewhat stupid after all, and aren't all knowing like God. I don't think we are always aware of just how bad our actions are, and the effect they have on others. Surely people should be forgiven, no matter how bad their sins are, once a certain amount of time has passed. If God made the rules, why can't he be more leniant?
3. Why is homosexuality considered a bad thing? It doesn't make sense to me. Males and females are made differently so we can reproduce, but surely, we have enough people on earth as it is, and we aren't managing to feed everyone and give them what they need. Surely, less people would be a good thing (I'm not promoting abortion or anything, that I disagree with).
4. Alot of things in the bible don't seem loving, or even make sense.
5. Why are people allowed several wives or to keep slaves and then things like homosexuality are frowned upon?
6. Is God ok with *some* people being rich, but not others? why?
What has convinced you that the Christian God exists over other Gods? I geniunely want to know. I don't like Christianity a lot at the moment, but I like the idea of having someone that watches over me, that loves and cares for me. There are parts of the bible that make a lot of sense and things that make me want to like God, but then things that don't make any sense. Originally, I was a Christian because I didn't want to go to hell. I don't know if I even believe in hell anymore. I believe in a God, but I'm not sure what one. I'm not convinced by the Big Bang Theory or that any of this could exist without a creator. I want to believe the truth, but to do that, I need to know what the truth is, and I need some convincing. I've tried looking for answers by myself and haven't found them. I don't want to doom myself for eternity if the Christian God is the real, only, genuine God. I've never found peace praying, or felt like my prayers were being answered. I don't feel like I have a relationship with God, and either that's because there isn't one, or I haven't been able to open myself up fully out of fear. I go to Church and see people claiming to be healed or hear things from God, or they claim they can see angels, and it feels like they are either lying or delusional. I used to believe those things too, so maybe they genuinely believe. I don't know.
The reason I joined a Christian dating site is, I still believed in God when I originally signed up, and now, I am eager for discussion with people, and I don't see myself ever dating a Non Christian. If I decide to be a Christian, I want to be with someone that puts God first and is the kind of person that wouldn't date a Non Christian, which is obviously a problem for me because I'm not sure what I believe. I feel like it isn't fair to date a Christian for this reason, because I'm not all that they would be looking for, and it's not fair to date a Non Christian because we would still be unequally yoked.
How do you know the Christian God is the right God?
Posted : 7 Apr, 2015 10:41 PM
Hey xstephnzxo,
This is really long, forgive me...
I admire your searching for truth, and I hope that I could shed some light in that dark corner of yours. Firstly, I don't claim to have the answers, but what I share is just my perception only of how I interpret the scriptures. There may be others that may not totally agree with what I have to say, but instead of bickering on the matter, just sharing your points of view would be appreciated. I hope this helps some.
1. On your experience of feeling mistreated � Not all people who say they are Christians are really Christians. Anyone can say that they are, but the evidence is by the fruit of their lives. Maybe the people you have encountered fall in this category... not only on this site but also in real life. If someone stands in a garage, it doesn't make them a car, so just because they go to church, or go to Bible studies or other religious functions, it doesn't make them a Christian. Some just say that they are Christians and never had accepted Yeshua (Jesus) as Lord and Savior.
Now, on another note, I really don't know of the negative encounter that you have received, but could it also be of your perception of how you were treated? Let me explain this.
We once had a food collection day for can goods and such. A man came and began to tell us of his problems of a help program he was in. He was a recovering alcoholic, and the program is set up to hold his finances in check, so he couldn't just withdraw money without approval of the program workers. He then told us of how hungry he was, but couldn't get money for food for this was the weekend, and the place of his program was closed. We really didn't want to give him money for concern of him using it to by liquor. So we tried to give him some can goods. He got angry arguing that there was no rice to eat it with, it would be cold, and other things. My question to you... did we mistreat him? He seemed to have perceived it to be so. He seems to think that his program workers were also mistreating him. I'm not implying that you weren't truly mistreated, but just that sometimes we can't see the true intentions of those around us.
2. Does God make the rules? Yes, He gave us the 10 Commandments. What is sin? Sin is the transgression of the law. - 1 John 3:4. What laws? God's laws. Man likes to add his laws unto these and at times makes living unbearable. One of these is the Sabbath. It's the 4th Commandment of the 10 that was given. But upon that, man added things to it, like what he interprets what work is. Man says that you can't kindle a fire, can't travel far calling it a Sabbath Day's journey. Even Yeshua was ridiculed for healing on the Sabbath, calling it work. There is a manmade restriction of how far you can travel from your home on the Sabbath. Do you know how the Pharisees used to deal with the Sabbath Days Journey tradition? It states in their Talmud that wherever you hang your hat, it is your home. So they would go to the far ends of the city and hang numerous hats far and beyond, so now their area of Sabbath journey was huge! Hypocritical huh? But God's intention of the Sabbath was one for us to enjoy. A time for us to relax and meditate on the things of God. Many of the restrictions were manmade, made stricter as to keep oneself from even getting close to transgressing the Law of God.
Is drinking alcohol a sin in itself? I say no, but the scripture says to not be a drunkard. To me, a drunkard is one drinks beyond the limit of righteous judgement. Hey, some people can drink 3 drinks and be ok, while others may have only one and be gone. Some can't go there because of medical issues, alcoholism etc. But I feel that drinking in itself is not wrong. I don't drink, not because I can't, but because I choose not to. And yet, Yeshua made wine...
Now for God to be more lenient on us? That is the reason why Yeshua went to Calvary. Read this passage...
�But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood�to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished� he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.� Romans 3 21-26.
The Laws were given not to punish us, but to show us a life of righteousness. But we fall short, but with that, God gave us the way out. You can't earn it, you just have to believe and receive it. Many will look at it and think that it's just too simple, too good to be true... so they go away to die in their sin.
God told Adam and Eve only one thing of restriction - to not eat of a certain fruit from a certain tree... they failed. So He figured that man was to stupid (as in your choice of wording), so he made the 10 Commandments for the people to follow � to be failed again by man. He finally got the message... yes, we are too stupid... so he sent our Savior. Isn't that grace? Isn't that Him showing us leniency? It's not that His Laws are too hard or grievous, but we are too stupid and rebellious to obey. We are the one's at fault, not God. We can tell a toddler that the fire is hot, to stay away from it. Their sin nature will want to touch it. We see that and put a barricade around it. Still they want to get at it. Finally, you stand there to physically stop them if they wander. Same as what God went thru with mankind. Yeshua is standing there in mediation for us to keep us from wandering to the Lake of Fire.
3. Homosexuality � Sorry, all I have is that it's an abomination to the Lord.
He just said that it's wrong, and so I accept his law. Here are some scriptures...
Lev. 18:22, "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.�
Lev. 20:13, "If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltness is upon them."
1 Cor. 6:9-10, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God."
Rom. 1:26-28, "For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper."
God said it, that settles it.
4. Alot of things in the Bible don't seem loving, or even make sense. - Can't elaborate on this one without knowing what scriptures you are talking about, sorry.
Now, I hope that I don't get into trouble in giving links here on this site for some sites don't allow links, but here they are...
5b. Multiple wives � God doesn't approve that, but man as a sinner did it himself. Here's a link to support one man, one woman.
http://www.letusreason.org/Biblexp75.htm
6. Richer or poorer � On this, your guess is as good as mine, except in instances where God blessed a person in the Bible. There was a reason for it. Today, anybody can get rich on their own devices, but to be blessed by God with riches, that's for Him to decide who gets it. Earthly riches as we know of today depends on gold, The more gold a country has, the more richer it is. That being said, gold is like dirt to God, for His streets will be pave with it.
It also depends on what you define as rich. Money isn't the root of being rich.
Now, what convinces me that my God is over all others? Let's go back to the 10 Commandments...
Exodus 20:1-3, �And God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.�
Sometimes in life, you have to take His word for face value. We need to accept what He says in His word as what He means. We can go around and around this over and over again, but in the end, you are the one that need to make the choice. Have you really accepted Yeshua to be the Lord and Savior of your life? Are you waiting for some kind of sign before you decide to believe or not?
�Faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of God� Romans 10:17
�Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen� Hebrews 11:1
The word "faith", simply means to "believe".
I don't know about seeing angels and such, at least not first hand. But I have seen healings. One stands out to me that I witnessed.
A woman in our congregation brought her young toddler for healing. He had a growth the size of maybe a golf ball in his inner thigh close to his private parts. She already had taken him to a doctor and was to return for a biopsy. We prayed and they left that day with no physical change to him. The following Monday, they went back to the doctor. The doctor couldn't find the growth at all. He even asked her if this was the same child she brought the Friday before. He was healed. I know this family personally, I even have his name, but due to respect of them, I rather not mention it due to respect of their privacy, but let me assure you, this is true. I know that there are others here that also have witnessed miracles of different kinds and maybe we can share them.
So yeah, maybe there are those that fake it, but there are those that are real.
But for you, I can't try to convince you to believe or not, to become a Christian or not. All I can do is to share my thoughts and hopefully help you to understand a little. I hope that this encourages you towards your searching and decision.
How do you know the Christian God is the right God?
Posted : 8 Apr, 2015 01:11 PM
Steph,
The guys who commented before me gave a lot of good answers, so I won't try to restate or modify what they said quite well.
But I'd like you to consider a couple other points.
First, we are called to Christ, not to the body of practice that we observe as Christianity. As practiced, it gets some things right and some things not. We are not even called to follow other Christians. Some who call themselves Christians are not. And all of us are flawed people who still get out of line from time to time. We are, sometimes, very poor ambassadors for our Lord.
So get to know Christ. Immerse yourself in the gospels -- Matthew - John. As you come to understand Him better, many of the other things in the Bible make more sense. But He is the focus.
Second, your main question about being sure the God of the Bible is the true God. You've had some good answers, but when I asked those questions some years ago, I had to look at it from a different perspective. I think what I will propose is a perspective that Paul and David pointed us to in Romans 1 and Psalm 19.
Consider creation. Notice the order. I don't know what your interests are all that well. But if you consider the correctness of a planet's orbit in order for it to be hospitable to life ... the kind of sun it must have ... the kind of atmosphere it must have ... the abundance of water. Earth appears to be designed with living things in mind. And then consider a living cell. Within each, the complexity of the mechanisms, the error-checking within the procedures that copy the DNA. Consider the interdependencies between species. Consider the beauty of certain species ... the butterfly's wings, the graceful lines of the horse, the bedazzling color or the flowers of the field.
Someone designed all this. Someone awesomely intelligent. Someone artistic.
Not a committee of feuding gods. Committees design things that work together only so well.
One Creator.
Neither the Greek Pantheon nor the Hindu plethora of deities suits. We're seeking one wise Creator who loves order and beauty.
Allah? His Koran is incomprehensible even to most who believe it. It's not just that it contains a few difficult passages. It contains very few passages that actually make sense and Islamic philosophers have gone to lengths to explain how contradictory "truths" can both be true.
A god who cannot make his book given to 1 prophet make sense is not the Creator.
And that brings us back to Jehovah Who for a time set aside His rightful glory and became our Immanuel, God with us.
How do you know the Christian God is the right God?
Posted : 7 May, 2015 03:20 PM
The most important thing is to want to find truth. If you just want to be satisfied with logical answers then you will be deceived with half truths at best.
The rewards for following other religions are often carnal, such as half a dozen virgins or reincarnation in this world as a superior being etc. The reward for following true Christianity is to not only be with God but to be of the same mind (understanding). As we grow here spiritually so does God's character within us which leads to understanding given by the holy spirit.
Many people judge God and will therefore have their (spiritual) eyes closed no matter how much they study because they will not yield themselves to him. If a man cannot give himself to God then he cannot receive the wisdom needed to understand his character or his word.
How do you know the Christian God is the right God?
Posted : 17 Jun, 2015 08:33 AM
1. some of the ''Christians'' I have met have treated me the worst out of all people. I am a nice person and didn't deserve to be treated that way. I treat others with kindness, and would expect the same in return.
:bouncy:I think someone already said it, but we shouldn't set up human "Christians" as the standard. Jesus is the standard. He will treat you with kindness.
2. Does God make the rules? It seems awfully harsh that our sins would be so bad that he would *have* to send his son on a cross to die for our sins. Like, is it really that hard to forgive us? humans are somewhat stupid after all, and aren't all knowing like God. I don't think we are always aware of just how bad our actions are, and the effect they have on others. Surely people should be forgiven, no matter how bad their sins are, once a certain amount of time has passed. If God made the rules, why can't he be more leniant?
:bouncy:This is a common misconception throughout time. God didn't give us the rules for us to keep them. He gave us the rules to show us that we are sinful and need to change. Not just to change our actions and keep a list of rules, but to change our heart, our minds, the way we think, the things we value. Everything! He wants to make us new creatures. The new creatures he wants us to become will live His true rules. Justice, Mercy, Humility. He can't be more lenient, even though He is being extremely lenient, because sin is a destructive infestation that perverts every beautiful thing. It has enabled humans to turn on their Creator who wanted only good things for them, and to eventually kill Him in one of the cruelest ways possible. We hurt and torture and kill even our fellow humans, even our own children, even animals. Sin cannot be tolerated. It must be defeated, and if we won't see the truth and run away from sin, we will be destroyed with it because we will be shown to love sin more than life.
3. Why is homosexuality considered a bad thing? It doesn't make sense to me. Males and females are made differently so we can reproduce, but surely, we have enough people on earth as it is, and we aren't managing to feed everyone and give them what they need. Surely, less people would be a good thing (I'm not promoting abortion or anything, that I disagree with).
:bouncy:Homosexuality is not as "wrong" as people make it out to be, it's not worse than drunkenness or gluttony, and "Christianity" is already rife with those sins. I've met homosexuals that are better people than a lot of Christians. The issue is, what is good, what is right, what is pure, what is healthy. I don't have to describe homosexual behavior for very long until it sounds pretty degrading and unhealthy. Again, that doesn't make it worse than any other sin. Pedophilia is far worse. Rape is far worse. Regular heterosexual fornication is far worse than a committed homosexual relationship, but that still doesn't make it good. Christians need to be much less hypocritical in how we respond to homosexual behavior, and much more merciful, but it's still not right. It is a unnatural and backwards use of the original purposes for those body parts, it's just as simple as that. Same thing goes for the same body part uses in a heterosexual relationship. Putting things where they don't belong is not good no matter what.
4. Alot of things in the bible don't seem loving, or even make sense.
:bouncy:You'll have to be more specific here, but I'll introduce you to the concept of "sufficient moral reasoning". What might not look good to us in the short term, may be the best thing possible in the long term. Sometimes we look at little sins or choices and we don't see the results for a very long time, but God sees the end from the beginning, and sometimes a very tiny sin/choice results in World War II. When we meet Him face to face, we can ask Him why things happened, the point right now is to get to know Him. We get to know Him thru Jesus, and from what I see of Jesus' life, I can trust Him with the rough edges. Jesus only came to love and to heal, He was never unfair. He took part in our suffering with us, to relieve our suffering and give us abundant life, to the point that He was willing to die a cruel death at our own hands.
5. Why are people allowed several wives or to keep slaves and then things like homosexuality are frowned upon?
:bouncy:All of those things are wrong. God allowed some of those things in the past because of the hardness of our hearts. We would reject God completely if He tried to rip sin out of us all at once, He's trying to bring us closer to Him all the time. You can apply that to kingdoms and nations as well. He is very merciful and long-suffering, and He tolerates our sin as He guides us down the path of repentance. There will probably be polygamists and slavers and homosexuals in heaven, but when they get there and see the clear truth, they will be very repentant and very grateful that God was merciful with them. The bottom line is that they were serving God to the best of their knowledge, they were following the truth that He was revealing to them, and He knows that they will continue to do that for eternity.
6. Is God ok with *some* people being rich, but not others? why?
:bouncy:God isn't here to provide material goods or comfort on this earth. He's trying to offer us something of such an immense value that His son gave up all the riches of heaven to come to earth and die so that we could see it. God is NOT ok with greed, but He is ok with people who work hard and make a lot of money. He is NOT ok with taking money from rich people by force(stealing) to give to poor people. That is just as bad as being greedy.
7. What has convinced you that the Christian God exists over other Gods? I geniunely want to know. I don't like Christianity a lot at the moment, but I like the idea of having someone that watches over me, that loves and cares for me. There are parts of the bible that make a lot of sense and things that make me want to like God, but then things that don't make any sense. Originally, I was a Christian because I didn't want to go to hell. I don't know if I even believe in hell anymore. I believe in a God, but I'm not sure what one. I'm not convinced by the Big Bang Theory or that any of this could exist without a creator. I want to believe the truth, but to do that, I need to know what the truth is, and I need some convincing. I've tried looking for answers by myself and haven't found them. I don't want to doom myself for eternity if the Christian God is the real, only, genuine God. I've never found peace praying, or felt like my prayers were being answered. I don't feel like I have a relationship with God, and either that's because there isn't one, or I haven't been able to open myself up fully out of fear. I go to Church and see people claiming to be healed or hear things from God, or they claim they can see angels, and it feels like they are either lying or delusional. I used to believe those things too, so maybe they genuinely believe. I don't know.
:bouncy:I felt the same way for a long time, but I went thru an experience where all the dots were connected for me, and I am absolutely certain that the Christian God is the only true God. I'm also certain that the Christian religion is not the only way to find God, but it is the best way. All I can tell you here is to really study the bible, using the character of Jesus as the key. Jesus is the clearest example we have of what God is like. If you know Him, you know God. If you know God, you can understand how God as acted throughout history.
How do you know the Christian God is the right God?
Posted : 18 Jun, 2015 08:51 PM
Hi there, thanks for posting your question.
The bible does say that if we search for God with all our heaarts that we will find him and if you do then you are sure to find him.
why do I believe God is real? I believe that he is real cause, I could feel his love upon my life, I know he is real because, my sister was down to skin n bones and he healed her. I believe he is real because i have seen him at work in my life.
secondly you can trust the bible because there isn�t one thing the bible predicted that does not come to pass, even when you watch the things we go through, the problems i cannot help but marvel at how the scripture covers it all and gives you an answer of how to deal with issues, and no one but God can see to put these things there that attends to us even before it happens.
People are people, just as there are right n and wrong, real and fake, truth and lie, so too will you find difference in people, those who are true and those who are not but don�t let that keep you from pursuing God.
How do you know the Christian God is the right God?
Posted : 27 Jun, 2015 04:43 PM
First off, I want to congratulate you for asking questions. That is a good thing. Questions mean you want to learn and you are seeking. I am a bible believing practicing christian. The LORD made HIMSELF known to me at a very young age.
My dear sister, not everyone who says they are a christian is truly a christian. Also some Christians are baby Christians just coming into the faith. The scriptures also tell us of many people we would question their faith. Moses killed an Egyptian. David had Bathsheba's husband killed and impregnated a married woman. He committed adultery. Peter cut off a soldiers ear.
The bible shows us that we are all sinners and even as Christians we fall down. But, we also go to GOD asking HIM for forgiveness. And we repent, and with that we become great warriors for CHRIST.
Satan, often times uses so called Christians to cause others to stumble. They are the wolves in sheep's clothing. You have groups like the KKK who believe they are ambassadors for CHRIST. They believe that their hatred of people is of GOD. But they have their bed in the lake of fire.
We as Christians are called to love one another and be at peace with all. We are also called to spread the gospel and also warn them of the errors of their ways. When you see those that are calling names and spreading the gospel of hate this is not of GOD.
JESUS is the example of how we should be. HE showed love to all but HE also addressed sin. Today many Churches failed to address it because they rather fill the offering plate. Many people are on their way to hell because of the sin friendly gospel they teach.
GOD'S message is a message of Hope and Faith and Love. GOD doesn't tell us things to rain on our parade. HE see way down the road and beyond. HE knows that these things be hurt pain and even death into our lives. Just as a loving parent will try to stare you away from making bad choices.
Homosexuality is frowned upon because this interferes with GOD'S plan to procreate. If everyone was gay society would die off. GOD calls it an abomination. We are not to spread seeds of hatred regarding this but to pray for those who have gone off the path. Those who attack viciously and try to shame are not ambassadors of CHRIST. However, in saying that we are called to address the matter and remove them from the Church. If they continue in this sin. That goes for drunkenness, fornication, adultery etc.
I myself know that GOD is the only GOD. I read my word daily and I can see how HIS WORD stands the test of time. HIS WORD tells us what will be happening in the last days. And according to all that is going on my dear sister, we are living in the end times. The animal die offs the weather changing people losing their faith in GOD, America passing the LGBT law of the land.
There is so much more going on. But I challenge you to read your word. Pray and find a true bible believing practicing church. I will hold you up in prayer. GOD Bless and may we endure to the end.
