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These questions were taken from an evangelical counseling form at my church. We had to provide Biblical references for all our answers. Answering these questions was a good exercise that helped me to really think about what I believe and why I believe it. I encourage you to think about how would you answer these questions. What is the Gospel? The Gospel is the Good News of Jesus Christ’s gift of salvation to this lost and dying world. Jesus came to Earth to take the penalty for our sins by dying on the cross. He then rose to life again on the third day. All we must do is accept His free gift of salvation and we will be saved. The Gospel can be summarized by “four spiritual laws”: Who is Jesus Christ? Jesus is God’s only Son: John 3:16, Isaiah 9:6 He is completely God: John 14:9, Matthew 22:44, Isaiah 43:10,11, John 20:28, 1 Timothy 3:16, Titus 2:13, Hebrews 1:8-9, Revelation 1:8 In addition to being completely God, He was also completely Man: Hebrews 2:17, Hebrews 4:15 He is the only way to heaven: John 14:6, Acts 4:12 Who is the Holy Spirit? He is our Helper Who dwells in us: John 14:16-17 He teaches us and reminds us: John 14:26, Luke 12:12 He intercedes for us: Romans 8:26 God will give His Spirit to those who ask: Luke 11:13 The world cannot receive Him: John 14:17 What is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? We receive power from the Baptism of the Holy Spirit: Acts 1:8 It is often associated with miraculous gifts which God gives as He wills: 1 Corinthians 12:8-11, Acts 2:11 I believe the Spirit dwells in every believer but not every believer is baptized in the Spirit. I believe this because the disciples received the Spirit in John 20:22, but they were not baptized in the Spirit until after His ascension (Acts 1:5). What is meant by the Trinity of God? God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are One God: 1 John 5:7, Colossians 2:9 Sometimes God refers to Himself as “Us”: Genesis 1:26 What does it mean to be Born Again? Every man is physically born once and must physically die once: Hebrews 9:27 There is a second death: Revelation 21:8 In order to be saved from the second death, we must be born again: John 3:3 When we receive Christ, we are born again spiritually into a new creation: 2 Corinthians 5:17 What is the purpose of Prayer? To receive God’s mercy and salvation: Luke 18:13, Romans 10:9-10, Hebrews 4:16 To avoid temptation: Luke 22:40 To make our requests known to God: Philippians 4:6 To intercede and be healed: James 5:16 To praise and thank the Lord: Psalm 150:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:18 To receive God’s good things: Matthew 7:11, 1 Chronicles 4:10, Matthew 18:19, John 14:13-14, James 4:2-3 Why study the Bible? To equip ourselves and others: 2 Timothy 3:16 To increase our faith: Romans 10:17 To avoid sinning: Psalm 119:11 To cleanse our lives: Psalm 119:9, John 15:3 To know what is the truth: John 8:32, John 17:17, Acts 17:11 To prosper: Psalm 1:2, Joshua 1:8, 1 Timothy 4:15 It is powerful: Hebrews 4:12, Isaiah 55:11 It reveals our lives: James 1:23 What is the purpose of Fellowship? To stir up love and good works: Hebrews 10:24 To encourage each other so we aren’t deceived by sin: Hebrews 3:13, Hebrews 10:25, Proverbs 27:17, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 God is always omnipresent (Psalm 139:8) but He is present in a special way when we gather in His Name: Matthew 18:20 What is Witnessing? Bearing witness of the light of Jesus so others may believe: John 1:7 We are commanded to preach the “Good News” of Jesus to everyone: Mark 16:15 We are commanded to make disciples and teach His commandments: Matthew 28:19-20 Is Water Baptism important? It is a way of showing our repentance: Matthew 3:11 It symbolizes our death to sin: Romans 6:6 It symbolizes our spiritual rebirth: 2 Corinthians 5:17 Water baptism is important but it is not necessary for salvation and it won’t get you into heaven. Only belief in Jesus Christ can do that (John 3:16, John 3:36, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5). Consider the thief who died on the cross next to Jesus. The thief never had a chance to get a water baptism yet Jesus told him that he would be with Him in paradise (Luke 23:43). I believe the “water” in John 3:5 refers to our natural birth, and the “Spirit” refers to our spiritual rebirth. What is Sanctification? God justified us, “just as if I’d never sinned”: Romans 8:30, Hebrews 10:14 We are justified by faith in Jesus: Habakkuk 2:4, Acts 26:18, 1 Corinthians 1:2, 1 Corinthians 6:11, John 17:19 Explain in your own words, what God is saying in Romans 12:1? A living sacrifice is a daily sacrifice. That means that we must live for Jesus every day, not just Sunday (Luke 9:23-24). Paul is begging and pleading that we live for God. If we don’t, that is an indication that we might not even be saved (1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Luke 9:62, James 2:20, Revelation 3:16). We are servants only doing our reasonable service. We must never become prideful in our works (Luke 17:10). |