Why do churches always seem to make me out to be a "bad" person?  Am I really that bad?

Those within the church, sometimes forget that once they were outside the church.  The Bible teaches that all of us have committed sin and we all stand in need of God's forgiveness.  Churches should preach against sin, but they should also remember that Jesus lived and died to make sure that we found God's love instead of His punishment for sin.

What is sin anyway?

The Bible says that sin is breaking God's law, that means doing something we ought not, or perhaps not doing something we ought.

Why is sin so important? Why is it so bad?

God set the penalty for sin, and that is death. Because He is Holy, sinfulness cannot come into His presence, and to be separated from Him is death, both physically and eternally. But there is Good News. God provided a way to escape punishment and for us to be made holy enough to come into His presence both now and forever. That way is through His Son Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty for our sin by dying on the cross.  And because He died without having sinned, our sin is cleansed by the gift of His life.

If God really loves me, then why would He send me to Hell?

This question, or the question "Is there really a Hell?" are two of the most commonly asked questions.  And the answer to both begins with why God made Hell in the first place.  If you look at the gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, verse 41, you will see a description of a judgment scene in which God addresses those who are being sent to Hell.  He points out that Hell was created for Satan and the angels that followed him into rebellion against God.  In the book of Revelation, chapter 19, we see that "death" and "Hades" are thrown into the lake of fire.  So from these two references, we can see that God intended to punish Satan and the rebellious angels and to end death and its domain with the lake of fire or Hell.  It was never God's intention to punish mankind in Hell.   Instead, from the very beginning of our sin (in the Garden of Eden) God had a plan which would involve a sacrifice that would pay the price for our sin, and bring us back into fellowship with Him.  That plan was accomplished through the death of Jesus on the cross.  And the plan was confirmed by the resurrection of Jesus three days after.   And that plan continues in effect until God decides to bring this earthly time to its conclusion.  And according to the scripture, the only humans who will be punished in hell, are those who have refused to accept the gift of grace, mercy, and salvation that God gave us through Jesus.  John 3:16 tells us of God's love, verse 17 says that Jesus didn't come to condemn us but so that we might be saved.  And verse 18 tells us who will send us to Hell (and it is not God.)  Verse 18 says those who do not believe are condemned already.  So the only person who can send me to Hell is me.  And the only person who can send you to Hell is "you."  It is your choice, not God's.  He has done His part to see to it that no person goes to Hell.

How does someone become a Christian?

John 3:16 tells us that we must believe in Jesus Christ. That means believing that He died for us, that His death is enough to satisfy God so that we can come into His presence, that this is God's free gift to us,   and we cannot earn and do not deserve this gift of grace. 

The choice is yours !                       

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