Have you ever had questions about Christianity? About salvation? About God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit? What about Israel? The prophets? What is the Bible and how it is perfect with so many authors? These are all great theological questions. “Theology” simply means “the study of God”. Our hope is to help you with your theology by using the most reliable source—the Word of God.
What does “salvation” mean and how am I saved?
There are several types of “salvation” mentioned in the Bible: Spiritual salvation (being saved from eternal separation from God), sanctification (continually being saved during the christian life), and physical salvation from an enemy (i.e. I was saved from being killed by my enemies). For the purposes of this question, we will be referring to spiritual salvation.You are saved by believing in the person of Christ Jesus for eternal life, the Son of God, who died as the full and final payment for all sin and rose again to life conquering death. That’s it. If you believe in Him for eternal life, you have it right now. Not later—now.The Bible also talks about security. You can have assurance of your eternal life. If you aren’t saved immediately and sealed for eternity, assurance is not possible. You couldn’t “know that you have eternal life” as stated in .1 John 5:13
“For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”
– Isaiah 64:6
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
– John 3:14-16
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
– John 5:24
“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”
– 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
– Ephesians 2:8-9
“and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”
– 1 John 2:2
“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
– 1 John 5:13
How were people saved in the Old Testament?
Just as people are saved in the New Testament by faith in the Messiah that came to Earth as a man, paid for sins, died, and rose again, people are saved in the Old Testament by faith in the promised Messiah. God deals with humanity in grace, getting what we don’t deserve, and mercy, not getting what we deserve, for all history–not just in the New Testament. We do not want God’s justice. We always want God’s grace and mercy. Praise God for Jesus Christ!
”And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
– Genesis 3:15
“Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.”
– Genesis 15:6
“What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’ Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,”
– Romans 4:1-5
Can I lose my salvation?
No. “Eternal life” lasts forever–it’s “eternal”. The idea that enteral life salvation can be cancelled or not finalized is completely against what the Scriptures say and also negates any possibility of assurance. If keeping eternal life salvation relied on your works, Jesus’ work on the cross and His resurrection wasn’t enough to pay for your bad works, or sins. Salvation doesn’t deal with sin because sin has already been dealt with by Jesus Christ Himself. It’s a gift that relies simply on your faith in Christ.
The Scriptures also say that you “have” eternal life the moment you put your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. It doesn’t say you “will have eternal life”, “might have eternal life”, “will eventually have eternal life”, or anything else. The Scriptures are clear that you are “sealed” in Him when you believe. This word “sealed” denotes protection and security. Consider the following points:
- If eternal life can end or be forfeited, that’s a contradiction in terms.
- Eternal life is given as a gift, not earned by merit.
- If you didn’t merit eternal life, there’s no way you can demerit eternal life.
- If our salvation hangs on anything other than the completed works of Jesus Christ, we’re in trouble.
- If our salvation is not secure, how can Jesus say, “they shall never perish”?
- If salvation is not a final settled issue, how can you be “anxious for nothing” as stated in ?Philippians 4:6
- Are you focusing on your own behavior rather than Christ’s completed work? If even one man or woman receives eternal life and then forfeits it somehow, will they not perish? By doing so, do they not make Jesus’ words a lie?
- How can you be a disciple and “make disciples” as commanded by Jesus in , which have to be believers, while spending your life worrying about your own salvation?Matthew 28:18
“As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
– Psalm 103:12
“and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. ‘My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.’”
– John 10:28-29
“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life”
– Romans 5:9-10
“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”
– Ephesians 1:13-14
What is prayer?
Prayer is talking to God. God speaks to us through His perfect Word, the Bible, and we speak to Him through prayer. Prayer was very important in the life of Christ, the early church, and is very important for individual believers.
Jesus spent a great deal of time in prayer to the Father. He prayed all night before He chose the disciples and He even prayed to the Father about things He already knew the outcome of. Jesus is God and most would assume He wouldn’t need to pray but this is how He maintained fellowship with the Father and we as believers should follow this example.
During the early church, people were continually in prayer. As Christians, especially when we have busy lives with work and other things, we should set aside time to pray as much as possible and make it a priority.
“They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
– Acts 2:42
“O You who hear prayer, To You all men come.”
– Psalm 65:2
“But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.”
– Luke 5:16
“It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles:”
– Luke 6:12-13
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
– Philippians 4:6-7
Does the Bible have errors?
The Bible is a collection of 66 handwritten scrolls and codices compiled over a period of approximately 1600 years by 40 people including fishermen, kings, prophets, etc. Regardless, the original autographs that make up the Bible are perfect.The Bible tells us that God inspired the written words. The word for “inspired” literally means “God breathed”. This does not mean the Bible does not contain errors through the transmission into different versions and languages over the centuries because, unfortunately, this happens. For example, the King James Version uses a slightly different word for “seraphim” in the book of than most other versions. This word is the plural form of a type of angel as with any Hebrew word that ends in “im”, such as “Elohim”. Thus, since the word is inherently plural in the original language, it should not be a plural, with an “s”, as in English translations.There are many errors like this and they are well documented, constitute less than 1% of the entire Bible, and don’t affect doctrine. So what’s the “best translation”? Some prefer KJV for it’s use of the Textus Receptus manuscripts and well documented history. Some prefer NASB for it’s modern readability with updated translations. Others prefer NIV for it’s clearer readability.All translations passed down by man have their own sets of “issues”. Ultimately, each translation is a matter of personal preference but it’s your depth of study that will make the most difference for you when you dig into the languages, history, and context of the Scriptures.Isaiah chapter 6 verse 2
“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;”
– 2 Timothy 3:16
King James Version of Isaiah 6:2 – “Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.”
New American Standard Bible Version of Isaiah 6:2 – “Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.”
