In your post this morning, "The Power of Choice", you made two points that interest me:

1. "Anyone can trust God, but very few people are interested in doing so."
2. "Whenever you give people freedom, expect most of us to abuse it."

But given that God created us, why didn't He create us so that more people are interested in choosing Him?  He could have made us in any way He desired.  But He gives us freedom to choose what we want, plus a natural inclination to turn away from Him.  It doesn't make much sense.

Sincerely,
Free To Fail

Dear Free To Fail,

Your question has a built-in contradiction.  You wrote, “Why didn't He create us so that more people are interested in choosing Him?” – if God designs us to choose one thing over another, we aren’t really choosing at all.  It would be like engineering a car that automatically stayed on the road; it would take driver error away, but it would also take driver freedom away.  God didn’t make man with a natural inclination to rebel against Him or choose Him.  God makes every human a blank slate and gives us equal opportunity to decide between righteousness and wickedness.  In the Garden of Eden, God walked with Adam & Eve (Gen 3:8), and the serpent offered deception (Gen 3:1)… both options were available.  Adam & Eve had equal freedom to choose to do the right thing or the wrong thing – perfect freewill.  God sets before us life and death (Deu 30:15), and we have the total freedom to choose either option.  God hasn’t stacked the deck one way or the other.  The entire world is full of sinful temptation, but none of those temptations are beyond our capacity to resist (1 Cor 10:13).  There are false prophets who proclaim false gods (1 Jn 4:1), and yet the entire creation screams of God’s existence, so that we are without excuse (Rom 1:20).  The evidence is there; the choice is ours to freely make.

Something I struggle with is trying to understand why the gate is so narrow (Matthew 7:14).  God could have created us any way He chose to, but He created us in such a way that most of us are not interested in taking the appropriate steps to become a christian.  Living life as a christian is hard, and we are so tempted to do the wrong thing at every turn.

Why would God create us in this way?  If He is so loving, why did He create us this way KNOWING that most of us are going to fail?

Sincerely,
Uphill Battle

Dear Uphill Battle,

The road is narrow, but it is also accessible to anyone (Jhn 3:16).  The road to salvation is designed so that salvation can only be found in Christ (Jhn 14:6).  God created mankind with the freedom to choose.  We can choose to live for ourselves (which is a wide road with a zillion different paths based upon our interests, desires, etc.), or we can choose to live for God (Rom 12:1).  The road to salvation is narrow because it is based off of one question: “Do we trust God?” (Heb 11:6).  Anyone can trust God, but very few people are interested in doing so.  It isn’t because He created us poorly; it is because He created us with the ability to choose.  Whenever you give people freedom, expect most of us to abuse it.  If God had made us without freedom, everyone would go to heaven… but no one would have chosen to go there.  So God, in His infinite wisdom, believed it better to create mankind with choice and have most people choose poorly than to create humans as mindless robots devoid of freewill.

I have been baptized, but at the time, I didn’t understand what it REALLY meant.  I have ALWAYS believed in God and Jesus in my heart.  I pray and try to live a life of compassion.  I was not raised in a church.  I never read the Bible until now; I am starting to go through it.  I am twenty-nine, and I have faith, but I also have questions.  How come everyone says, “Oh, it was their time; they are in a better place now.”  It is God’s plan... but how does God decide who is going to get stabbed to death or who is going to get decapitated in a wreck or who is going to die of a heart explosion?  I have to admit that I BELIEVE, but I am also VERY FRIGHTENED of death.  Terrified... mortified... and everyone says if you believe, you wouldn't be scared, but that’s just NOT so!  How can I overcome this fear?  What is God’s plan for MY death?  I have committed a DEADLY sin, but I did not KNOW it was one until recently because of my ignorance... will I go to hell for being ignorant and committing this sin LONG after baptism?  Everyone was getting baptized, so I did it too because I BELIEVED.  I am so lost!  PLEASE write back to my e-mail; I fear I won't be able to find this site again.  Thank you sooo much and bless you.  I may need to write often!

Sincerely,
Full Of Questions

Dear Full Of Questions,

It is normal to fear death; every sin is deadly (but every sin can be forgiven), and we need to talk about your baptism.  That is the short version of our answer to your question.  Now let’s break it down a little bit more:

1. Fear of Death.  Christianity provides hope for us beyond the grave (2 Cor 1:10).  However, just because I might know something will turn out right, that doesn’t mean I won’t be nervous to face it.  No matter how many statistics you are given about skydiving, the first jump out of a perfectly good airplane will be nerve-wracking.  Death is the same way.  All that we humans have ever known is a physical existence.  Life after death is a new experience (‘Hades’ literally means ‘the unseen place’), and the unknown is always scary.  The apostle Paul made it clear that leaving these fleshly bodies will be a difficult experience for most of us because the idea of being “unclothed” from these mortal bodies is fear-inducing (2 Cor 5:4).
2. Committing A Deadly Sin.  Every sin is deadly (Rom 6:23).  The idea that some sins are worse than other sins is not a Biblical idea – it is a man-made theology.  Cardinal vs. venial sins is from Catholicism, not Christianity.  Even a single sin of any sort has the power to separate us from God (Isa 59:2).  Every sin has the power to kill, and all sin can be forgiven if we are washed in the blood of Christ (1 Jn 1:7).
3. Baptism.  You started your question by stating, “I have been baptized, but at the time didn’t understand what it really meant.”  ‘Baptism’ means ‘immersion in water’… every time you take a bath or go swimming you are baptized.  Baptism will only save you from your sins when you understand what you are doing and why you are doing it (1 Pet 3:21, Mk 16:16).  If you didn’t understand what you were doing when you were baptized… then it didn’t do anything for you.

We here at AYP are happy to answer all your questions and help you on your spiritual journey.  Having said that, there is only so much that a website can provide to help your long-term spiritual growth.  We would be happy to help you find a faithful congregation that can help you one-on-one in learning and applying the Bible in your life.  If you would like help getting in contact with a congregation in your area, e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.

Why do Baptists believe in eternal security and the Methodist don’t?

Sincerely,
Pondering The Protestants

Dear Pondering The Protestants,

The idea of ‘eternal security’ is a doctrine accepted by many of today’s Protestant churches.  Eternal security is the teaching that once you are saved, you can never be lost.  It is based off of the teachings of John Calvin (read “Calvin And Sobs” for a more in-depth look at the doctrine of Calvinism).  Methodists don’t subscribe to that teaching, but the Baptists do.  Although, neither the Baptists nor the Methodists are God’s church, in this case, the Methodists are right.

God very clearly teaches that someone can lose their salvation.  Heb. 3:12 tells us to be watchfull, or we will fall away from the living God.  Heb 6:4-6 talks about those who crucify Christ again.  Even after someone has been enlightened and tasted the blessings of salvation, they can fall away.  You have the freedom to choose or reject God (Mk 7:9).  1^st Corinthians chapter five is an entire chapter dedicated to someone who had turned his back on God and had once again immersed himself in a life of sin.  Even the apostle Paul said that he himself had to live faithfully or face rejection (1 Cor 9:26-27).  We will only be eternally secure when we get to heaven; until then, continue to fight the good fight.  Live so that on your deathbed, you can say what Paul did – “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness” (2 Tim 4:7-8)

The Bible tells us many times that God loves us.  So my question is: how could a God that loves us so much condemn anyone to eternal suffering in hell?  I believe that the vast majority of the world would say, "no" if you asked them if they are a christian.  By what the Bible tells us, that would mean that most people will go to hell.  It is very difficult for me to believe in a loving, caring God under those circumstances.  The parable of the sheep and goats is an even further discouragement.  Please help me out.

Sincerely,
That Fire Is Hot

Dear That Fire Is Hot,

God doesn’t condemn us to hell; He offers to save us from ourselves.  When God designed mankind, He made us in His image (Gen 1:26).  One result of that design is that all humans have eternal souls.  That is a positive thing.  God intended for Adam & Eve to never die and to always enjoy the blessings of fellowship with God in the garden (Gen 2:8).  Eden was a perfect situation, and it was our sin that destroyed that perfection.  Mankind sinned, and that sin causes us to die (Rom 6:23).  God gives us the freedom to choose to live or choose to sin; the fact that we all choose to sin is not His fault (Rom 5:12).  Heaven is a perfect place, and if God allowed sinful people into heaven, it would cease to be perfect.  Our actions and choices have condemned us.

God, however, wishes to save us from ourselves.  He sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins (Jhn 3:16).  He provided us with the Bible, which shows us the path to receive salvation (Rom 10:17, Rom 1:16).  We should not blame God for those who go to hell any more than we should blame a doctor when his patient refuses to take their medication.  It is true that many people will go to hell (Matt 7:13), but God doesn’t desire that any should perish (Ezek 18:23).  God sent us a Savior in Jesus Christ, even though we didn’t deserve it (1 Jn 4:14).