Words of Faith

... what has happened was God's way of teaching. It's been painful, but often, we need things to hurt a bit before we get the message.

God's rules for us to live by are simple. But that doesn't mean they are easy to follow, and when you slip, it's like taking a wrong turning. If you keep on going, you just get more and more lost. And that's precisely what the devil wants. To take us further and further away from God. We must find the courage to turn around, go back, and get on the right road. And that means saying sorry to God and trying to change

Our bodies aren't ours to use as we want; they are on loan by God for our earthly life. It's where God's spirit lives. Even if we don't believe, there's still a bit of God within every one of us. We are supposed to look after our bodies and not use them in ways God forbids. And that doesn't only apply to sex. We shouldn't make ourselves fat, take drugs, etc. It's like you might treat something you borrowed from a friend—such as a book. You'd take care of it, not scribble in it or let it get wet. That's why taking your own life is so wrong. It would be like destroying something that wasn't yours.

That's the way the devil works. He makes us believe he has a much better life to offer, and we must forget everything that the bit of God inside is telling us. But that just starts us off down a path leading to more sin and misery rather than the good things Satan promised

God is more concerned about when you didn't tell the truth than about what happened with Sylvia, where you were completely honest. The Bible tells us not to lie. It's one of the Ten Commandments where it's called false witness.

It's what Jesus said to Nicodemus, one of the local religious high-ups. Unlike most of his colleagues, this guy realised Jesus was someone special. Jesus told him that the only way we can get to heaven is by having our lives transformed... That's what born-again means. It's a spiritual change.

Peter looked puzzled but, to Janet's delight, interested. ‘So how do you do this, born-again thing?’ he asked.

‘Simple. You just ask Jesus into your heart.’

‘How do you get someone into your heart?’

‘By putting them above everyone and everything else. Maybe it's not the best example, but if there's a girl, you're in love with, she'll be in your heart, won't she? I mean, you'll be thinking a lot about her, what she likes, how to make her happy. That's how it is when Jesus becomes the most important person in your life. He influences everything you think and say. And there's more. Being born again means you receive the Holy Spirit, which changes how you behave. But not because you tell yourself you've now got to be a better person. Instead, the spirit inside you makes you want to be.’

‘Then, you never do anything wrong again? Like stealing or swearing.’

Janet smiled. ‘No, God gives us free will. So, if you want to steal or swear or do other things that God disapproves of, you can. However, for a Christian, someone who has received the Holy Spirit, the feeling you get after you have done something wrong is much more painful than it ever was before. The spirit is like your conscience, someone on your shoulder, saying, 'You know you shouldn't.' But it's a warning coming from inside you. Quite different to a person threatening, you'll be in trouble.’

‘What if you do it anyway?’

‘You say sorry to God and try to put it right. Give back the money you've stolen and apologise for swearing.’

‘And that's it?’

‘Yes. God will forgive and forget completely what you did wrong.’

Peter shook his head. ‘Sounds too easy. I mean, you just do wrong things, pray some prayer, and then everything's right again.’

‘Not quite. You must mean it when you say sorry. The word in the Bible is repent, which includes promising to try and do better next time. The try bit is crucial because God knows that often we will fail again. He wants us to admit we have done wrong and then listen and follow what the Holy Spirit tells us... But if we mess up again and repeat the process, saying sorry, etc., then God's forgiveness is always what follows. And unlike us humans, there's no limit on how many times God will forgive.’

‘You believe heaven is a real place—don't you?’

Well, that was a question she wasn't expecting. Janet nodded. ‘Yes, the Bible makes that very clear.’

‘What's it like?’

‘It's where God lives with his angels and other heavenly bodies. Everyone who trusts Jesus Christ as their Saviour goes there when they die. The last book of the Bible, Revelation, gives the best description saying the streets are paved with gold, and it has walls made of precious jewels with gates of pearl. That's where the expression 'pearly gates' comes from.’

‘Is that where your mum is?’

‘Yes, Mum's in heaven.’

‘How can you be sure?’

‘It was Mum who first explained to me about God and Jesus, so I know she believed. And I could see it in her face, in the way she lived and the excitement in her eyes when we used to talk about Bible passages.’

‘My parents never went to church, but they made me say prayers each night when I was very young. And they wanted me to get confirmed... But maybe that's not enough,’ Peter said dejectedly.

‘Just because someone never speaks about their faith, it doesn't mean they haven't got any. Did you ever hear them say Jesus didn't exist?’

Peter shook his head.

‘I think what God doesn't like are people who deny Jesus as the son of God. And while you can't get to heaven by just doing good things, some stuff is done through God's guidance by people who believe but wouldn't call themselves Christians.’

‘What stuff?’

‘Your parents gave up a lot of things for you. You might think mistakes were made, but I'm sure they acted with your best interests at heart. Which is just the way God would guide them. Unlike the way the world sees things, he is more concerned with our motives and less about whether we succeed or not.’

Peter moved his gaze from the sea to look at Janet. ‘Suppose Mum and Dad never read those words in the Bible, which say you have to believe to get to heaven?’

‘Bible verses aren't like passwords; that you must get right, or you don't get in! Whether your parents ever read these verses doesn't decide if they go to heaven, although it would affect their peace of mind about what happens when their earthly life ends. It's not what we say, how many good deeds we do, whether we go to church or which Bible verses we can quote that count. It's whether God sees true belief in our hearts, which he says starts from looking at the world around us, revealing his nature and power and grows as we learn more about him and acknowledge our sinful nature. God will know if our faith is genuine, and there are some scary bits in the Bible for people where it isn't. They'll be in for a nasty surprise when their life ends.

‘Does that mean hell?’

‘Yes. The Bible makes it clear that if we die without accepting God's offer of Grace, then, as he cannot look on sin, we'll end up being separated from him forever. And that's another way of describing hell.’

‘What's Grace?’

‘The forgiveness of our sins. A gift from God that we don't deserve and could never earn, no matter how many good things we do. All we’ve got to do is accept it.’

‘I thought God is supposed to love us all, even those who are really wicked. So, how can he send people he loves to hell?’

‘God doesn't send anyone to hell. It is the just consequence of the things we've done wrong. Every one of us will die with a long list. You, me, my mum, your parents. We all deserve hell, and that's where we'd end up if it weren't for Jesus' death at Easter. He paid for our sins by suffering unjustly for things where we should be punished. This is why accepting Jesus means we can be sure we will be with God forever when our life down here ends. But each of us must make a conscious decision to do this, and you can't buy salvation for someone else, as the Catholics once believed.’

I may have stopped disobeying God, but I've done it reluctantly. From the time I told Carole I wanted our relationship to end, I had been hoping, almost praying, that something would happen so we could go back to the way things were. That's not repentance.

to provide lasting solutions to the many problems in the world today, we must start with what God has done for us by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Without belief in God's son, even our best efforts are doomed to fail

... it's a service where we worship God, which means doing what he wants