Who opens your heart to receive Christ as Savior?  Is the answer simply 'God'?

Sincerely,
Looking For A Key

Dear Looking For A Key,

Yes, the Lord opens our hearts to heed the message of salvation (Acts 16:14), but there isn’t anything miraculous in it.  He opens our hearts because His message is true, and those who seek truth are drawn to it.  God promises that if we seek truth, He will open the door for us (Matt 7:7).  When people are honest and legitimately hungering for truth – God promises they will be filled (Matt 5:6).  God chose a particular type of person for salvation… the kind of person honest enough to listen and obey the Bible (Jas 1:25).

Someone brought this to my attention, and I must admit, I was ashamed of not knowing how to reply.  One of the Ten Commandments says, "Thou shalt not have any other gods before Me”, but isn't Jesus Christ a god... and wouldn't that be having a god before God?  To get to God, you have to go through Jesus Christ.  I need help on this one please.

Sincerely,
Chain Of Command

Dear Chain Of Command,

Jesus is not another god – Jesus is part of the true Godhead.  Jesus was in the beginning and is just as immortal as the Father (Jhn 1:1-3).  Jesus and the Father are one (Jhn 10:30).  It is very similar to how a husband and wife are two people… but they are also one family unit (Gen 2:24).  Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Father are separate beings (Lk 3:21-22), but one Godhead unit.  When God commands us to not worship any other gods but Him, He is dealing with false gods that are man-made.  He isn’t trying to tell us not to worship Jesus.  God makes this very clear in 1 Cor 8:4-6.  There are idols, and then there is the true God… and His Son.

God is very clear about how He wants us to live our lives, so I don’t understand how some people are constantly sinning and think they will go to heaven just because they are good people.  It is hard when I try to show people different verses in the Bible, and they just blow it off and say God wouldn’t send them to hell because of this or that.  What are some good verses to show my friends and family that God is serious?

Sincerely,
Frustrated

Dear Frustrated,

Two very basic verses that emphasize the importance of living faithful lives are Jhn 14:6 and Jhn 15:14.  In Jhn 14:6, Jesus says that He is “the way and the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him”.  That verse removes all other religions.  Buddhism, Islam, Agnosticism, Judaism, Atheism, etc. – none of those religions will get you to heaven – only Jesus will.  Since the only way to heaven is through Jesus, Jhn 15:14 goes one step farther and makes it clear that we can only be Jesus’ friends if we do what He commands us.

Not everyone can accept this.  It is only when people love the truth (2 Thess 2:10) that they accept the details of the Bible.  It is an unfortunate reality that most people are simply not interested in the Bible’s truths because it requires too much of them.  God wants us to live faithful and committed lives, lives that require us to deny ourselves (Matt 16:24).  Only when we study His Word and apply it can we call ourselves faithful (Rom 10:17).

I am visiting family, and my sister-in-law invited an older child over to play with my daughter.  This child’s parents must use the phrase, "Oh, my God" often because the child said it a couple times.  My daughter has been taught not to say this, and at breakfast, she said, “(child’s name omitted) is using bad words.”

My reactionary reply was, "(child’s name omitted) is a bad-bad."  This made for an awkward moment with this boy sitting at the breakfast table with his aunt & uncle close by who were watching him for the day.

I missed a moment to teach why we do not say, "Oh, my God" to the child and his relatives.  However, I'm not sure I would have explained it sufficiently if I would have tried.

Where in the Bible does it state using this phrase flippantly is wrong?

Sincerely,
Catch Phrase

Dear Catch Phrase,

In the Old Testament, it says to “not take the Lord’s name in vain” (Ex 20:7); it is the third commandment.  In the New Testament, we are told to “let not the name of God and the doctrine be blasphemed” (1 Tim 6:1).  The New Testament also says to treat God with reverence (Heb 12:28).  When we have an attitude of reverence towards God, we won’t use His name as a cuss word.  You are doing well to teach your child to hold God’s name in reverence and honor.  You’ve been doing the right thing… the verses back you up.

I have a family member that believes that we are descendants of Hebrews and who we know as Jesus is named Yashua, and God is Yah, but from reading the Bible’s Life Applications, it gives the definition of Jah (which is short for Jehovah).  What do I tell them?  They’re trying to say I’ve been misled by what I have been taught, but I need to know how to combat my faith in what I know about my personal Lord and Savior.

Sincerely,
Prefer To Remain Nameless

Dear Prefer To Remain Nameless,

Jesus’ name is ‘Yeshua’ in Hebrew, and in Greek it is ‘Haysoos’.  In Hebrew, God’s name is ‘Yahweh’, and sometimes it is shortened into ‘Yah’.  There is no contradiction between the Bible and what your family member told you.

The only incorrect statement they made was that christians are descendants of the Hebrews.  Christians are not descendants of the Jewish nation… they are the replacement for the Jewish nation.  Christians are the spiritual Israel (Rom 2:28-29); they have replaced the physical Israel.  Both Jew and Gentile are allowed into the kingdom of Christ – His church (Rom 9:22-24).