The goal of the Christian life is to be in a relationship with Jesus, always growing closer and closer to Him until we become just like Him, and the only way to have a relationship with someone is by spending time with them and having two-way conversations with them. Many Christians say that God only communicates with us today through the Bible, which is a false teaching. All throughout the Bible, from the very first chapter to the very last, God did miracles, spoke to people, and had plans for people. That's what He does, and He never stopped. We stopped having faith and stopped listening to Him. He talks to every Christian, every day (inside us), but the vast majority of them are turning their backs on Him by ignoring what He's telling them, which is the single most appalling travesty of Christianity. Our primary job in this life is to listen to what He says and obey what He says. For help in understanding His written instructions (the New Testament), see my article called How to Study the Bible. For help in discerning His spoken instructions, see my article called How to Discern God's Guidance.

Salvation only comes through proper faith in Jesus. If you're relying on something or someone other than proper faith in Jesus for receiving the forgiveness of your sins, such as your water baptism, the Virgin Mary, praying to saints, going to confession, doing penance, or anything else, then you're not actually saved from the penalty for your sins. You won't be allowed into heaven until you have proper faith in Jesus. These are the scriptural requirements for being certain that you've received salvation: 1) First, you must have a physical birth. Jesus did not die for the devil or his demons, Jesus only died for humans. As Jesus said, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he or she first has a flesh birth and then has a spirit birth. 2) Believe that Jesus died to atone for our sins (i.e., His death made peace between us and God), and that He was resurrected from the dead. If you're willing to be obedient to Him (see the next sentence), then this is the moment you receive salvation and the Spirit of God comes to live in your heart (which pastors and Bible teachers refer to as the "indwelling" Holy Spirit) and connects you to God. 3) Be willing to confess out loud in the presence of a witness that Jesus is the Son of God or that Jesus is the Lord (which means that He's our Master). If you're not willing to confess this in front of anyone then Jesus might view it as denying Him (Matthew 10:32-33 NKJV). For example, if you've ever been talking to someone about a Christian topic and you referred to Jesus as "the Lord" then you've accomplished this step. By fulfilling these three requirements and maintaining your obedient faith in Jesus, not only do you have salvation (and you will go to heaven) but you also have the assurance of your salvation. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called How to Receive Salvation.

The Jews are the chosen people of God, and the New Covenant was specifically promised to them (Jeremiah 31:31-34). During the Church Age (starting on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4 and ending soon when Jesus returns for the Church as described in a later bullet point), Gentiles are allowed to share in many of the spiritual blessings of the New Covenant such as the forgiveness of sins and the indwelling Holy Spirit. Contrary to what many pastors and Bible teachers believe, the church has not "replaced" Israel, and the church has not "taken over" the promises from Israel, and the church is not the "new" Israel, and the church is not the "true" Israel, and the church is not the "spiritual" Israel, and the church is not the "Israel of God," and Gentile Christians are not "spiritual Jews." For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called Gentile Christians Are Not Spiritual Jews. To see the different plans that God has for Israel and for the church, take a look at my series called The Rapture of the Church.

Many Christians and churches assume that some of the commands in the Old Testament period (such as the Ten Commandments) were brought forward into the New Testament period. But after the cross, no one is required to obey any of the 613 commands in the Old Covenant and the Law of Moses, and no one is able to sin by breaking or violating any of those 613 commands (such as the Ten Commandments, the tithing laws, the kosher dietary laws, or the Sabbath laws). The New Covenant includes the essentials of nine of the Ten Commandments (there's no Sabbath under the New Covenant), so we must still obey the requirements of the Ten Commandments (except for the Sabbath), but we do it by obeying the New Covenant. Jesus was an Old Covenant Jew who lived under the Law of Moses during His entire life on earth before the cross. The Old Covenant was fulfilled and completely canceled at the cross. Therefore, the Ten Commandments, the tithing laws, the kosher dietary laws, the Sabbath laws, etc., have all been completely canceled because they were part of the Old Covenant. Even though certain commands in the Old Covenant are similar to certain commands in the New Covenant, this doesn't mean that the two covenants have been "combined," or that some commands from the Old Covenant have been "imported" into the New Covenant, or that some commands from the Old Covenant are "still in force" under the New Covenant. Those concepts are being taught by many pastors and Bible teachers, but the Old Covenant was completely canceled, so none of it is in force after the cross. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called Covenants, Dispensations, and the Ten Commandments - Part Three.

When the New Testament tells all Christians to do something, that's God telling us to do it (whether we want to or not). If we don't study and obey God's instruction manual (the New Testament), we're forcing Him to discipline us (perhaps severely) as rebellious children, using frustrating experiences or painful hardships. The painful consequences for our wrong beliefs or lack of obedience are no one's fault but our own, and they'll have a big impact in heaven. If we're not trying to be fully obedient to God in this life, we're jeopardizing our future in heaven. God is not playing games, so we need to take the New Testament seriously and learn what He expects of us, and then make sure we're obeying Him in all things (even when we don't want to). As Christians, we have one job here on earth: to obey everything that God tells us to do (in His written instructions and His spoken instructions). We are periodically tested and then evaluated on the basis of our obedience, and we'll be rewarded or disciplined (perhaps severely) both in this life and in heaven depending on how we choose to respond to these tests. In heaven, all Christians will stand before God and He will judge the things we did on earth. Then we'll receive what is due us, whether good or bad. Many Christians will be ashamed before Him and will suffer loss at this judgment, but it's their own fault for not being diligent enough to find out what God wants us to believe and do. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my short articles called:

• We're Likely to Receive Painful Discipline for Not Obeying God, and It's Our Own Fault

• We Will Receive Rewards or Suffer Loss in Heaven Based on Our Earthly Obedience or Lack of Obedience

• We Will Not All Be Equal in Authority in Christ's Future Kingdom after the Second Coming

Dozens and dozens of New Testament passages tell us that all Christians are soldiers in a war against the devil and his accomplices. We're told that the devil controls this world, so Christians are living in enemy-occupied territory. Jesus is our commanding officer. Instead of doing whatever feels right to us, we need to hear from the Lord and obey everything He tells us to do throughout the day, every day, whether or not it makes sense to our tiny, fallible human brains. The devil has a kingdom (a dominion) of darkness, which is the earth and the atmosphere. He and his angels are referred to as authorities and powers, rulers and authorities and powers of this dark world, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. To understand how the devil gained control of this world, see my article called Understanding Jesus - Part Two. As we can see all throughout the New Testament, we fight this spiritual war in two ways: 1) Internally, by listening to God's guidance inside us and making sure that our views and thoughts are all in alignment with the New Testament, and by resisting the devil's schemes and temptations. 2) Externally, by the way that we obey God (instead of doing whatever feels right to us), and by the way that we treat other people. My article called The Two Main Types of Christians describes the two main types of Christians. One type is trying to study and learn what the Bible says so that they can be sure they're obeying what God tells us to do, so they're more likely to understand that all Christians are soldiers in a war and that the devil and his accomplices are our enemy. The vast, vast majority of Christians are the second type, and they're not trying to study and learn what the Bible says so that they can be sure they're obeying what God tells us to do. The second type of Christians are not proper soldiers in God's army. They're deserters, collaborating with the enemy because they listen to and follow the world's values and priorities and the world's way of doing things, and they're blind to the fact that this world is controlled by and run by our enemy the devil (until the Second Coming when Jesus will evict the devil and rule the world). Jesus said that they make Him sick to His stomach (wanting to vomit). The devil and his demons can only do what God allows them to do because God is always sovereign; He's always in control. Even though Jesus is our commanding officer, God is not in a war against the devil because when the time comes then God will simply toss the devil and his angels into the lake of fire to be tormented day and night for all eternity. Only humans and holy angels (e.g., Daniel 10:4-13, 20-21, 12:1, Revelation 12:7-8) are fighting this war. We can't kill or even injure the devil and his demons; that's not the kind of war this is. Each soldier (each Christian) fights the battles in a personal way, by how we think, speak, and act personally. It's all about being obedient to God and resisting the devil; it's not about taking the fight to the devil or his demons and trying to take them on directly. Even when we cast demons out of people, this is not about fighting the demons directly. It's all about setting people free from the devil's kingdom so that they can become good soldiers and obedient children in God's kingdom. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called We Need to See Ourselves as Soldiers in Enemy-Occupied Territory.

Being baptized in water is an important act of obedience, but it's not a requirement for receiving salvation. Symbolism is important to God, and we know this because symbolism is found throughout the entire Bible. Therefore, it should be important to us as well, which means that we need to understand and properly fulfill symbolic acts. Baptism is a symbolic identification with what Jesus has done for us. It's a picture of being buried with Jesus and raised to new life in Him. Full immersion under water is the only proper method of baptism. Whether we baptize people "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," or "in the name of Jesus Christ," or "in the name of the Lord Jesus," or something similar, these all have the same effect. It's not the specific wording that's important, what's important is that we're baptized in Jesus' name. Whether we baptize people in a church building, a swimming pool, a lake, a river, an ocean, or some other place, the only issue is that there's enough water for a full immersion. Even though we usually leave the baptizing for pastors to do, all Christians are authorized to perform baptisms. Infant baptism is not scriptural and therefore it's not a valid Christian baptism. If the only baptism you've received was as an infant or by some method other than full immersion under water then you've never had a valid Christian baptism. If you've never had a valid Christian baptism, this won't keep you out of heaven but it means that you're living in disobedience to God and you'll be disciplined (perhaps severely) both in this life and in heaven. In order to get into obedience concerning baptism, find the right church and tell them that you're a Christian and you need to be baptized by full immersion under water. God wants us to go to a specific church, and if we're paying attention then He will lead us to it. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my series called Everything We Need to Know about Water Baptism.

Many Christians assume that receiving the indwelling Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation is the same as being baptized with the Holy Spirit. However, throughout the New Testament we can see that we must choose to receive the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in obedience to God (after we automatically receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation) because it empowers us by providing certain gifts of the Spirit for the assignments that God needs us to do. We can see why it's referred to as being "baptized" with the Holy Spirit by demonstrating the similarities between Spirit baptism and the two forms of water baptism in the New Testament. We can see that for the apostles, speaking in tongues was the convincing evidence that Christians had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We can see the high degree of importance attached to the baptism of the Holy Spirit for receiving spiritual empowerment for the assignments that God needs us to do. We can see that there's a simple, straightforward reason why the disciples had two separate experiences of "receiving" the Holy Spirit (first on the day that Jesus was resurrected in John 20:19-22 and then on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4), and why sometimes there was a time lag between the moment when people received salvation and the moment when the Holy Spirit came on them (as in the case of the Samaritans). The reason is that the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is only available after salvation. The new Christians in Scripture automatically received the indwelling Holy Spirit at the moment of their salvation just like everyone else in the New Testament church does, and they received the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a separate event just like the rest of us are able to do. These are always two separate and distinct experiences of the Holy Spirit with two separate and distinct purposes. One experience is automatic, the other experience is a choice we make. We can see that when the New Testament describes certain Christians as being "anointed," this specifically means that they had received the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Contrary to what most charismatic Christians seem to think, the anointing is a one-time event. We're not anointed at different times for different purposes, and church services, worship songs, sermons, messages, books, etc., are not anointed. When charismatic Christians say such things, they're using the word "anointed" (or "the anointing") in a completely unscriptural and completely wrong way. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my series called How to Receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Many churches teach that miracles, healings, and the so-called miraculous gifts of the Spirit ceased or died out during or shortly after the first century, and this view is known as cessationism. However, God never intended for any spiritual gifts or miraculous experiences such as dreams, visions, tongues, prophecies, miracles, or healings to ever cease or die out before Jesus returns. If we're not using all of the spiritual gifts that God wants us to use then we're not properly obeying God. Cessationists wrongly believe that some spiritual gifts have died out, so they're not trying to use all of the spiritual gifts that God wants to give them. This is disobedience to God, and the apostle Paul said that cessationism is a very specific sign of the "terrible times in the last days." It's a lie from the devil and a form of last-days apostasy (a falling away from proper beliefs). For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called All Gifts of the Spirit Are Available Today.

Jesus physically ascended up to heaven in front of the apostles forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:1-11). Pastors and Bible teachers and Bible commentaries tend to refer to this as the Ascension (with a capital "A"), and many of them wrongly assume that this was the only time that Jesus went up to heaven after the cross. But what actually happened is that Jesus went up to heaven on the day that He was resurrected, and then He came back to the earth later that same day, which was forty days before the Ascension. So Jesus went to the Father on the day that He was resurrected and returned to the earth that same day, and that's why the disciples were able to receive the indwelling Holy Spirit on the evening of Resurrection Sunday (John 20:22). This is a very important point to understand because it has a very significant impact on when the disciples received salvation and the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the reason why they had a "baptism" of the Holy Spirit (described in a previous bullet point) approximately fifty days later on the day of Pentecost. Misunderstanding this one key point--that Jesus went to heaven on Resurrection Sunday and returned to the earth that same day--has caused multitudes of Christians (e.g., most mainline and evangelical denominations such as Protestants and Baptists) to be led astray down a path of "cessationism" (described in the previous bullet point) and away from the proper "charismatic" view of the New Testament. It's impossible to obey the commands that Jesus gave us in the Great Commission if we hold the cessationist view. The New Testament is completely charismatic after the cross, and all Christians today are members of the same New Testament church that was born on the day of Pentecost. We're meant to be seeing miracles and divine healings, and we're meant to be using all of the gifts of the Spirit that God wants to give us. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called Understanding Jesus - Part Three.

My article called End-Times Prophecies Are Coming to Pass Right before Our Eyes (see sign #19) explains that we should expect a great revival, a "latter rain" revival, in the end-times (the final years of the Church Age). The article shows that we're in the end-times now, and that the first raindrops of the latter rain have fallen occasionally in various parts of the world for approximately the past 300 years. As of June 2024, the full revival, accompanied by miracles, healings, and a massive harvest of people receiving salvation, is now slowly getting underway (see the intended impact of my book). After the great last-days revival gets fully underway, many Christians and church leaders will denounce the miracles, signs, wonders, and healings as being demonic because of passages that describe demonic miracles. What they don't realize is that their view is based on a misunderstanding of end-times prophecies and where those prophecies fit into the overall scheme of God's plan. Those demonic miracles will not (and in fact cannot) begin until after all Christians are removed from the earth at the pre-tribulational Rapture (described in the next section). They also don't realize that by denouncing the great last-days revival, they're committing the apostasy that Jesus and Paul prophesied about. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see sign #19 in my article above.

In "5 Point Calvinism," all 5 points (Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and the Preservation or Persistence or Perseverance of the Saints) are completely unscriptural and completely wrong. Similarly, the doctrine of Eternal Security (also called Once Saved, Always Saved) is unscriptural and wrong. God knows the end from the beginning (e.g., Isaiah 41:4, 45:21, 46:10), so from His perspective, all our futures are already set in stone. From a human perspective, however, we're able to make certain choices that help to create the future that God foresees. This is why the New Testament repeatedly warns us not to sin, because we're able to make certain choices about what to do and what not to do. Salvation is available to every human. God foreknew from the beginning of time who would or would not make the choice to receive salvation. In His omniscience, He always sees all of the past, present, and future of the world. God does not choose or predestine or force anyone to receive salvation (or not to receive salvation). God knows in advance who will choose to receive salvation. At the appropriate times He calls, invites, and draws them to Jesus, opening their hearts. Because of the Atonement, He has already provided the grace and faith they need in order to receive salvation, but they must make the choice whether or not to receive salvation through proper faith in Jesus. Even though God does not foreordain who will or won't receive salvation, and He does not foreordain everything in our lives, He does foreordain certain things in our lives. For example, He has predestined the difficult seasons that He will take us through to mold us (as a potter molds the clay) in order to strengthen and prepare us for the assignments He needs us to do. He has also foreordained the discipline that we will receive for not obeying Him, and He has predestined our roles in the body of Christ and the spiritual gifts that we will receive if we make the choice to receive the gift of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in obedience to Him (described in a previous bullet point). Everything that happens to you is because God wanted it to happen or allowed it to happen. Everything. For example, God allows people to bring suffering on other people even when that's not what He wants. The way to avoid unnecessary pain and suffering due to your own sins or the actions of others is to always stay on the individual path that God has for you. God is aware of, and involved in, every aspect of your life, no matter how big or how small, and if you listen to Him all day, every day (as described in a previous bullet point), and obey Him then He will keep you on the best and safest path for your life. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called Our Lives Are Not Predestined.

When Christians and churches observe the Lord's Supper, most of them are not doing it properly. For the detailed scriptural evidence on how and how often to do it, and the judgment that we might receive for not doing it correctly, see my article called We Need to Observe the Lord's Supper Correctly.

Ephesians 6:18 and Jude 1:20 tell us to pray in the Spirit, but most Christians and churches don't understand that "praying in the Spirit" and "praying in tongues" are simply two ways of saying the same thing. Based on those passages, all Christians should be praying in tongues "on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." In other words, when we have prayers and requests in our hearts and minds, we can pray in tongues about these things and allow the Holy Spirit to intercede through us (and we should pray in tongues at other times so that the Holy Spirit can intercede through us for other purposes). Praying in tongues (even for just a few moments) several times a day enables us to be open to the filling of the Spirit, enables us to discern God's guidance within us, and enables the Holy Spirit to work through us. There are two purposes for tongues in the New Testament, which is something that many Christians don't seem to realize. One form of tongues is for delivering a message from God to a group of people (which must then be interpreted into the local language using the spiritual gift of interpretation), and the other form of tongues is for speaking to God (praying to Him in tongues). Each form of tongues has a different purpose and a different audience, and there's no form of tongues for communicating with foreigners in their native languages. There's not a shred of scriptural evidence that speaking in tongues was ever meant for communicating with foreigners, and there's not a single example in the entire New Testament of anyone speaking in tongues in order to communicate with foreigners. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called Praying in the Spirit Means Speaking in Tongues.

The New Testament clearly says that all Christians need to be in unity with each other, and it clearly denounces all divisions within Christianity such as denominations because a house divided against itself cannot stand (Mark 3:24-25). All denominations are human inventions. God is not Baptist, God is not Catholic, God is not Lutheran, God is not Methodist, God is not Presbyterian, God is not Seventh-day Adventist, and so on. We can't say that God is all denominations because some denominations' views are mutually exclusive with other denominations' views. God is no denomination, and we are told to be non-denominational as well ("no divisions"). We all need to consider ourselves as non-denominational Christians rather than as Protestants, Baptists, Catholics, charismatics, cessationists, evangelicals, and so on. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called We Need to Consider Ourselves as Non-denominational Christians, Not as Protestants or Baptists or Catholics or Any Other Denomination or Division.

Our modern concept of a senior pastor who has the ultimate authority over a local church is a human invention and is not scriptural, which means that it's against God's will. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my series called New Testament Passages Concerning Women.

Women are allowed to speak in church and hold any position in church or ministry. When we put all of the evidence together to see the full picture, it clearly shows that God has given the decision-making authority in a marriage to the husband due to Eve's original sin. The husband and wife should be a team, working together for the same goal of having a happy, thriving marriage, and the husband is essentially the team leader. This doesn't give him the right to boss her around or treat her badly, but it means that he's the one who will be held accountable as the team leader. The wife will be held accountable for her own decisions and actions, but the husband is doubly accountable. First for his own decisions and actions, and second for his decisions and actions as the team leader. His bad decisions as team leader will count against him when we all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, but the wife will be commended for properly submitting to those decisions. This does not mean that a wife must submit to abuse or harm or danger from her husband. Not only are wives told to respect and submit to their husbands, but husbands are told to love and respect their wives. It's a two-way thing of mutual respect and seeking to honor God. Abuse of any kind should never happen, but if it does then it should not be tolerated. Ideally, a husband and wife will act as a team because they're "one flesh," and the husband is the team leader who is held accountable to God. For example, even though Eve was the one who was initially deceived and ate the forbidden fruit, the sins of the human race came through Adam. Both of them sinned, but Adam (the husband) was the one who was held accountable. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my series called New Testament Passages Concerning Women. God will reveal whom He wants in leadership positions and teaching positions in your church.

Homosexuality is not a sin (although any form of anal penetration for pleasure or other sexual purposes, whether it involves body parts or anal sex toys or other objects, is a sin). People who identify as being in the LGBTQIA+ community are allowed to hold any position in church or ministry. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called Homosexuality Is Not Always a Sin. When people are gay, transgender, non-binary, etc., then Christians sometimes accuse them of sinning by trying to change or deny their God-given gender. However, they're not sinning by their non-conformity to the physical gender that they had at birth or by changing their bodies because God does not give anyone a gender in the womb (see my article called Did God Directly Form Us in the Womb?). God will reveal whom He wants in leadership positions and teaching positions in your church.

Most churches seem to take up tithes and offerings. However, the modern form of tithing taught in churches is a complete fiction that does not honor God because it bears absolutely no resemblance to any form of tithing found anywhere in the Bible. Instead of giving our "firstfruits" or our 10% tithes to God as they did under the Old Covenant, Christians are under the New Covenant which requires us to give everything to God. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called Christians Are Not Required to Pay Tithes.

Numerous online articles in favor of sola scriptura ("Scripture alone") describe the Bible as being God's completed revelation to us, so they say it's fully sufficient with everything that we need to know for serving God. However, the Bible never makes any claims for sola scriptura, as many of these articles freely admit, and in fact the Bible says the exact opposite of sola scriptura in various ways throughout the New Testament. The Bible is God's completed written revelation to us (until after the Second Coming), but my article called How to Discern God's Guidance shows quite clearly that Christians need to be led by the Spirit and listening for God's guidance every day. The Bible is not fully sufficient with everything that we need to know for serving God, nor does it claim to be. We need to obey everything that God commands us to do in the New Testament, but we also need to obey everything He tells us to do on a daily basis (see my article above). Just to be clear, all of our Christian doctrines, views, traditions, etc., need to be completely in line with what the Bible actually teaches (not what we think it teaches) because the Bible was written by God through human authors and it's our only infallible source of written information. Those who argue in favor of sola scriptura are completely correct in this. But people's idea of sola scriptura goes beyond what the Bible says because they fail to include the need for listening to and obeying the Holy Spirit within us. When we properly include the ministry of the Holy Spirit, then we no longer have sola scriptura ("Scripture alone"). For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called All Gifts of the Spirit Are Available Today.

There is one God who eternally exists in three divine Persons: God the Father (frequently referred to as "God" in the New Testament, and sometimes as "the Lord God"), Jesus Christ (frequently referred to as "the Lord," and sometimes as "the Son of God"), and the Holy Spirit (frequently referred to as "the Spirit," and sometimes as "God's Spirit," "the Spirit of Christ," "the Spirit of truth," or similar terms). The Father is God, Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. Jesus and the Holy Spirit and the Father are all on the same level, all co-equal (but with different roles). They are not forces or energies, but instead they are three separate, individual, spiritual, divine Persons who can interact with each other, and there are no other divine Persons, deities, or supreme beings. They're not three separate Gods, and they're not three separate pieces or parts of one God, and they're not different roles that God takes on at different times. Each one is referred to as God all by Himself. There's only one God, so where one is, they all are; when we pray to one, we're praying to them all. It's not necessary to pray to each one separately; it's not necessary to praise and worship each one separately. In Jesus' divine nature He existed with God and was God (and still is God) from before the world began, but His divine nature has never been the Son of God. It's only in His human nature that He's the Son of God, and He's the one and only Son of God (Christians are adopted sons and daughters of God). For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called The Trinity.

Jesus has two completely separate natures, a human nature and a divine nature, so He is 100% human and 100% God, both at the same time. On earth, Jesus was fully human and fully God, but He did not access or use any of His divine nature or divine power at any time before the cross. Not even once. Instead, He operated in the power of the Holy Spirit just as we're meant to do. He was the perfect human and our perfect role model. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called Understanding Jesus - Part Three.

If you search online for "atonement theories," the most commonly held view appears to be that Jesus died on the cross in our place to pay the penalty for sin, receiving the punishment that we deserve as our Substitute, offering His life as a ransom to God in order to redeem us from His righteous wrath. This is a misunderstanding of what happened in the Atonement (when Jesus was humiliated and brutally tortured and executed and resurrected). Jesus did not receive any punishment on the cross, and sin was not punished on the cross. Jesus did not die on the cross in our place as our Substitute and He did not take the punishment that we deserve. Instead, sin was put to death--not punished--on the cross, which atoned for all of the sins of the world throughout all time. God was not holding humans captive, so He did not want or need a ransom; the devil is the one who held us captive and agreed to a ransom. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called Understanding Jesus - Part Two.

All unrighteous people before the cross, and all unsaved people after the cross, will one day be thrown into the lake of fire, which we call hell. They will not be annihilated there, and they will not be tormented for all eternity. The devil and his demons will be tormented day and night in the lake of fire for all eternity. But when unsaved and unrighteous humans are thrown into the lake of fire, it's for corrective discipline, and no matter how long it takes, every human in the lake of fire will eventually choose to bow before Jesus as their King and be reconciled to God. Then they'll be released from hell and be allowed into the Holy City, the New Jerusalem. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called The Unsaved and Unrighteous Will Not Be Annihilated and Will Not Be Tormented in Hell for All Eternity.

All of the scriptural evidence is consistent with the first Creation account (Genesis 1:1-27) being a parable, and none of the scriptural evidence is consistent with the first Creation account being a historical account of actual events. As you can see online, Moses wrote the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and most of Deuteronomy, and those books contain numerous accounts of actual historical events involving actual historical people. The first Creation account does not have the same feel as those actual historical accounts, even though it was written by the same person (Moses) who wrote those actual historical accounts. The first Creation account (in Genesis 1) is a parable that was given to Moses by God, with all of the elements that we can see in God's parables in the Gospels. In a parable, some elements are important and some are not. The first Creation account describes God creating the universe and all life on earth in 6 days and then resting on the 7th day. In this way, God was establishing a pattern that can be seen all throughout the Bible as described in my article called End-Times Prophecies Are Coming to Pass Right before Our Eyes (see sign #21). Therefore, we have scriptural reasons for concluding that in some way, God's Creation was done in 6 "days" (or 6 steps or 6 stages). Many Christians believe that those were 24-hour days, but we can't be certain of that. For example, in both the Hebrew and the Greek, the word "day" is used in a number of different ways all throughout the Bible. We can't conclusively prove how long each "day" of Creation was. The first Creation account is not a true historical description of the order of events during Creation. It's a parable, which means that the order of events is not necessarily true (because a parable is a story that didn't literally happen in the way it's described), just as we see in God's parables in the Gospels. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called The Creation Account in Genesis 1 Is a Parable. Since so many passages throughout the Bible are based on, or support and confirm, the second Creation account in Genesis 2:4-25, the only reasonable conclusion we can make is that the second Creation account is not meant to be taken as a parable, an allegory, or anything other than actual, literal facts. The second Creation account in Genesis 2 directly contradicts the first Creation account in Genesis 1 (see my article above), and therefore the first Creation account is not meant to be taken as actual, literal facts. Adam and Eve were formed 6,000 years ago, and the scriptural evidence is described in my article called End-Times Prophecies Are Coming to Pass Right before Our Eyes (see sign #21). Since Genesis 2:4-25 says that God formed Adam as the very first living thing, this means that either the earth is 6,000 years old or else the earth is older than that but had no life until 6,000 years ago. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called The Creation Account in Genesis 2 Is Not a Parable. As Christians, we know that if God wanted to make the universe appear to have evolved for 13.8 billion years after a "Big Bang," and if He wanted it to appear as if all modern life evolved over billions of years of "natural selection," then that would be very easy for Him to do. We won't know for certain why He would choose to do that unless He tells us, but we do know that He's so much bigger than we can possibly imagine and so far beyond our tiny intellects than we can possibly imagine. It's completely irrational to think that we should be able to understand everything about God and His plans, His thoughts, His words, or His ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).

There's no command for Christians to dress up for church, and there's no appeal, request, or suggestion that Christians should dress up for church or that church leaders should wear any kind of formal or special clothing. Instead, we're told to be careful not to be overly dressed up, which leaves room for personal preference within the bounds of decency and modesty. We are not more in God's presence in a church service than we are anywhere else. We have completely misunderstood the New Covenant and the effects of the cross if we feel that it's important to dress nicely to "come into God's presence" in a church service. The church building is not God's house, and it's not specifically where God's presence is. We are God's house, where His presence is. Instead of giving our best to God as they did under the Old Covenant, Christians are under the New Covenant which requires us to give everything to God. We should not feel that it's important to dress up for church, and church leaders should not wear any kind of formal or special clothing that sets them apart from the congregation. The concept of the "sacredness" or "formality" of Christian church services is not scriptural; it's a human invention, so dressing in an "appropriate" way for the sacredness of the gathering is also nothing more than a human invention that does not honor God. We should dress decently and modestly, not showing off our bodies or our wealth by the way we dress. We should live in harmony with others by not dressing in a way that might be considered inappropriate or offensive. We should not be judgmental against people for the way they dress for church. If we're in leadership or ministry positions in our church, we should obey our church's rules in the way we dress. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called What Should Christians Wear to Church?

At some point in the future, Jesus will return from heaven to the clouds above the earth, and then He will "snatch up" all Christians (alive or dead) to meet Him in the clouds and take us back with Him into heaven. All of the dead Christians will be resurrected into their physical bodies, and all of our physical bodies will instantly be made immortal. Many pastors and Bible teachers refer to that event as the pre-tribulational Rapture (it will happen immediately before the seven-year Tribulation period begins, which is when the Antichrist will be revealed and will eventually take over almost the entire world). In the Latin Vulgate Bible, the Latin word for "caught up" or "snatch up" in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 is where we get the English term "Rapture" for this event. Seven years after the Rapture, Jesus will return from heaven all the way down to the earth, and everyone in heaven will return to earth with Him. Pastors and Bible teachers refer to that event as the Second Coming, and my article called The Second Coming describes the very specific details that we're given about the Second Coming and what will happen immediately after Jesus returns to the earth. We will not spend eternity in heaven as most Christians seem to think. After the Second Coming, Jesus will reign on earth for one thousand years, and all of the righteous people throughout history will reign with Him. Many pastors and Bible teachers refer to that as the Millennium and the Millennial kingdom, and my article called What Will Happen after the Second Coming? describes the very specific details that we're given about what will happen during the 75 days after Jesus returns to the earth and what life and government will be like during the Millennium and on into eternity. There are no Bible prophecies that need to be fulfilled before the Rapture happens, so the Rapture could happen at any moment, perhaps before you finish reading this article. In fact, end-times prophecies in the Bible are being fulfilled at an unprecedented rate, right in front of our eyes. Step by step, the world is shaping itself into an exact picture of the end-times world described throughout the Bible, and my article called End-Times Prophecies Are Coming to Pass Right before Our Eyes describes the very specific end-times prophecies that have been fulfilled since early in the twentieth century (or are currently being fulfilled). For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called The Rapture of the Church - Part One.

Many Christians wrongly believe that Jesus will descend directly to the Mount of Olives at the Second Coming, based on Acts 1:9-12 and Zechariah 14:1-4. Jesus will return in the same way that He left, just as Acts 1:9-12 says, and He will stand on the Mount of Olives on the Day of the Lord, just as Zechariah 14:1-4 says. However, the Bible gives us a great deal of specific information about what will happen after Jesus descends to the earth and before He stands on the Mount of Olives. At the Second Coming, Jesus will return to the earth in southern Jordan at a place that the Old Testament calls Bozrah (possibly the modern city of Petra) rather than descending directly to the Mount of Olives as is commonly believed. For the detailed scriptural evidence, and the one specific event that will "trigger" the Second Coming, see my article called The Second Coming.

One of the most important things to know and understand about the Christian life is that we will all go through seasons of testing in order to bring us to maturity. These seasons are painful and frustrating and confusing and frightening at times. They're intended to stretch our faith and our patience, and they will make us wonder if God loves us, and sometimes they will even make us wonder if God is really out there somewhere. If you're going through a testing season, or a wilderness season, or a dry season, or a valley season, or a night season, or the dark night of the spirit (or soul), or whatever you choose to call it, trust the Lord and know that there's a purpose for it. All living things (plants, animals, people, and other creatures) need to go through struggles in order to grow stronger and become more mature. This is why we have expressions such as "No pain, no gain" and "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." When you're experiencing painful, frustrating, confusing, or frightening events in your life, keep in mind that God has not forgotten about you or abandoned you. He's either molding you (as a potter molds the clay) in order to strengthen and prepare you for the assignments He needs you to do, or else He's disciplining you (which is explained in my article called We're Likely to Receive Painful Discipline for Not Obeying God, and It's Our Own Fault). In order to determine if you're being disciplined by God, and the reason for it, and how to make it stop, it's important to know how to discern His guidance within you. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called Why Do Christians Experience Hard Times and Suffering?

The Bible never says that masturbation is a sin. Therefore, if masturbation is not done improperly (as described throughout my article below), then it does not violate anything in Scripture. When we understand what lust means in the Bible, then we can see that sexual desires and sexual fantasies are not automatically the same as lusting (because sexual lusting involves an earnest desire to carry out a sexual sin), and we can see that sex can be done without lusting, and we can see that masturbation can be done without lusting. We must elevate Scripture above our feelings and our reasonings, and we must believe what God has chosen to tell us. There's not a shred of scriptural evidence that it's a sin to masturbate or to use devices such as vibrators, dildos, or masturbation sleeves. However, any form of anal penetration for pleasure or other sexual purposes, whether it involves body parts or anal sex toys or other objects, is a sin. We need to make sure that our masturbation isn't causing any negative impact or harm to us or to anyone else. Based on the Greek word that Jesus used in Matthew 5:27-28, as described in Greek dictionaries and Bible commentaries, our imaginings or fantasies become sinful when we allow ourselves to have an earnest desire to do something that would be a sin if we actually carried it out. Since I've been in online ministry for many years, people have sometimes asked me what kind of fantasizing would be acceptable, but we can't provide a scriptural answer to that question because the Bible doesn't specifically discuss that issue. It would be unrealistic to tell people not to fantasize at all, so I asked the Lord about it (as described elsewhere in this article), and He gave me one basic rule. If our fantasies and imaginings (whether sexual or not) might improperly affect how we act with someone, then that's not something that we should imagine or fantasize about. For example, if we indulge in sexual fantasies about a married neighbor or a married co-worker, then this is likely to influence the way we behave around that person (such as being more flirtatious with that person, possibly leading to adultery). But if we fantasize about people that we're not likely to ever meet (or someone that we're allowed to flirt with in real life), and those fantasies won't improperly affect how we behave with anyone, then those fantasies are not a problem (even if the scenarios that we fantasize about would be sinful in real life, as long as we're not indulging in an earnest desire to carry out those fantasies). If you look at all of the rules and laws and commands throughout the Bible, a large percentage of them have to do with our relationships with each other. God is very concerned about our relationships with each other, so the issue about fantasizing is whether or not it will have an adverse or improper or sinful impact on how we act. Our thoughts influence our words and our actions. When we keep our thoughts pure (2 Corinthians 10:5, Philippians 4:8), then we're less likely to have improper words and actions. If we have sexual fantasies, it's important to be sure that they won't influence us toward improper words and actions. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called Masturbation Is Not a Sin.

Sex outside of marriage is not always a sin. When we see words such as "fornication" or "sexual immorality" in the New Testament, it's usually a translation of the Greek word porneia, and different people define that word in different ways. Essentially, any sexual act that is sinful in God's eyes could fall under the umbrella of porneia. The Bible says that certain sexual acts are sinful, but it doesn't describe every form of voluntary sexual activity. For example, imagine a Christian man and woman (both unmarried) on a date and alone together at his place or her place with their emotions and hormones in high gear. If they kiss, is that a sin? If they're fully clothed and they fondle each other, is that a sin? If they take off their clothes and cuddle in bed, is that a sin? If they give each other oral sex, is that a sin? If they use sex toys on each other, is that a sin? The New Testament doesn't mention any of these specific scenarios, and they're not "worldly" issues as people sometimes claim, but instead they're real issues that affect unmarried Christians who are dating. When it comes to sex, the issue is that God is concerned about our relationships. If you examine all of the commands in the Law of Moses and in the New Testament, you'll find that a great number of them deal with our relationships with each other. After I made a list of every sexual scenario I could think of and went through the list with the Lord, I ended up with a group of scenarios that are sinful and a group of scenarios that surprisingly are not sinful. It turns out that the scenarios in the "not sinful" group are all in the context of exclusive relationships. Most Christians seem to feel that premarital sex is a sin, but the New Testament never actually says that. For example, how do we know that adultery is a form of sexual immorality? We know this because the New Testament tells us that it's a sin (e.g., Galatians 5:19-21). How do we know that prostitution is a form of sexual immorality? We know this because the New Testament tells us that it's a sin (e.g., 1 Corinthians 6:15-18). Yet the New Testament does not tell us that premarital sex is a sin. Essentially, any sexual act that is sinful in God's eyes would be a form of porneia (usually translated as "fornication" or "sexual immorality"). Therefore, when the New Testament talks about "fornication" or "sexual immorality," it's referring to any sinful type of sexual activity, even though it doesn't explicitly describe all possible sexual activities that are sinful. This is one reason why we need to know how to discern the Lord's guidance, to ensure that we don't commit sexual sins. Sex by itself does not equal marriage in the Bible. Based on what we see in the Bible, there are very specific requirements in order to be married in God's eyes. There are also very specific requirements concerning divorce and remarriage. The sexual scenarios described as being sinful or not sinful in my article below are something that the Lord told me, and that He confirmed for me in a specific and undeniable way, and therefore I believe these things. The only reason you should believe any of that is if God does the miracle for you as described on my home page. Our fallible human brains don't always properly interpret what we read in the Bible, and God is the only One who knows the true meaning of every Scripture passage. It continually amazes me that Christians don't bother asking God for the proper interpretation of Scripture or they don't know how to discern what He tells them. Sexual sins are strongly condemned in the Bible. It's very important to be sure that what you're doing is right in the eyes of the Lord because you will be judged based on your beliefs and actions, not based on what I believe, what your pastor believes, or what anyone else believes. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called Sex Outside of Marriage Is Not Always a Sin.

Drunkenness is condemned in the Bible, but it's acceptable for Christians to drink alcohol in moderation. Nothing edible or drinkable needs to be rejected by Christians if it's received with faith and thanksgiving. We're free to eat and drink whatever we choose to (unless it will cause concerns for any Christians around us), and we're free to abstain from any foods or drinks if we choose to. But we must not pass judgment on Christians who choose to drink alcohol in moderation, or try to stop Christians from drinking alcohol in moderation. For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called Alcohol in Moderation Is Not a Sin.

The terms "prosperity gospel," "word of faith," "positive confession," and "name it and claim it" all tend to be used synonymously (because they essentially refer to the same views). They're all false teachings based on wrongly applying a number of Bible passages (whether knowingly or unknowingly). God is not against His people being wealthy, but in a number of passages (as in the examples throughout my article below) we're told that our abundance is meant to be used for God's purposes, which include serving and helping others who are in need and helping spread the Gospel message. We're supposed to place it all in God's hands, allowing Him to use our abundance as He sees fit. When Christians continually accumulate wealth, and hoard their wealth or display their wealth by buying mansions, yachts, fancy cars, private jets, etc., this is absolutely disgusting. It's utterly shameful. If you become wealthy, enjoy it humbly and reasonably but use it primarily for helping others who are in need and in any other ways that the Lord tells you to (see my article called How to Discern God's Guidance). For the detailed scriptural evidence, see my article called The Prosperity Gospel Is a False Teaching.