Not Yet Ready to Give Your Life to Jesus Christ?

It's normal and quite okay to have questions and also a sign of intelligence and reasoning to ask them. It's also a further sign of intelligence and reasoning to listen to the answers without bias. Here are a few common questions and answers to consider. They were compiled by writers of the Christian Broadcasting Network and their answers are better than anything I would have written.

Why Did Jesus Die for Man's Sins?

By Dianne E. Butts
Guest Writer

CBN.com - When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, God gave them skins to cover up with (Genesis 3:21). To get those skins, some animal had to die. In other words, God sacrificed an animal to cover their sin. From the beginning, God has declared the payment for sin is death, and so blood must be shed to cover sin:

- Leviticus 17:11: "For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life."

- Hebrews 9:22: "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."

We could shed our own blood for our own sins, but that wouldn't do us much good because then we'd be dead. God doesn't want us dead-he wants us alive. But that leaves him with a great dilemma: we each have sinned and must die for our sins, so how can we live?

God devised a plan. Early in the Old Testament God introduced the idea of one innocent being shedding its blood in place of the sinner's. After the incident in the garden, he introduced the sacrificial system in the Tabernacle-Temple ceremonies. That's what those sacrifices were all about: "He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him" (Leviticus 1:4).

However the solution of sacrificing bulls and goats and lambs for the sins of each person's sin was a temporary fix. The next year, another animal would have to be sacrificed for the same person. A more permanent solution was needed.

That meant a human was needed to die for humans' sin. But all humans are sinful, so another sin-filled person dying for us just wouldn't work. A human without sin was needed.

But ever since Adam, every human born is sin-filled, so how could a sinless man happen? The only way was if God did it Himself.

So he did.

God became a man, known as Jesus-whose name, Joshua in Hebrew, means "the LORD saves" (1)-and died for us in our place. Therefore, anyone who accepts the sacrifice of Jesus on his or her behalf is covered by his blood and is saved.

Buddha didn't die for us. Mohammad didn't die for us. Name any other god and whoever you name, they 1.) weren't sinless, and 2.) didn't die for us.

Only Jesus satisfies God's requirement of a perfect, sinless person who was sacrificed in our stead. Therefore, Jesus is the only way.

Can We Trust the Claims of the Bible?

By Mary May Larmoyeux
Guest Writer

CBN.com - How can I trust the claims of the Bible?

That is a great question! Let me answer it this way ... If you bought a new iPhone, you'd probably sit down at some point and read the instruction manual written by its makers. Likewise, it's good to understand your instruction manual for life-the Bible.

Humanly speaking, it doesn't seem possible for the Bible's 66 different books, written over 1,600 years by more than 30 authors, to all be true, does it? But then again, the Bible isn't an ordinary book.

2 Timothy 3:16 reminds us, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness." The Bible was inspired by the Creator-the One who made you.

Perhaps you're shaking your head and mumbling, But how do I know that the Bible is true? Well, the same way that you know if the iPhone instruction manual is true-you put your trust in it, follow the directions, and see if what it says works.

A great place to start checking out the claims of the Bible is in the Book of John (it's in the Bible). You may also want to read More than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell and A Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence of Jesus by Lee Strobel. Like you, both of these men were unsure if the Bible and the words of Jesus Christ could be trusted. What they found is written in their books.

Understanding the truths of the Bible will make a difference in how you view life. The other day I read a bumper sticker that said, "God is my co-pilot; we went to the mountains, and I ate him." This message does not ring true with what the Bible reveals about God and the mountains.

Romans 1:20 says, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-His eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

Recently I went on a weekend getaway to the mountains and witnessed some of God's invisible qualities. I was in awe at the mountaintop beauty as it pointed me to The Designer. As the morning fog lifted one day, I saw a breathtaking panoramic view of creation that revealed a microscopic picture of the power of God.

There's only one way that you can know if the Bible is true: Check it out. Try reading it for yourself and put into practice what it says. I think you'll discover an authentic message that can bring sense to your life