Q: How do I hear from God?
Q: Are God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit all the same?
Q: I have accepted Jesus as my God and Savior recently. What should be my next step?
Q: What is water baptism? Must I be water baptized to ensure my salvation?
Q: What is prayer?
Q: How do I know that I am saved?
Q: How do we know that the contents of the Bible are true?
Q: How do I hear from God?
A: God can speak to us in a variety of ways. They include seeing visions and dreams just like Jacob did in Genesis 28, hearing God’s audible voice like Elijah did in 1 Kings 19:12 and through reading the bible as “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God – Romans 10:17. It is important that we consistently pray and keep ourselves open to hearing from God.
Q: Are God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit all the same?
Yes and No! Yes by the fact that we believe in a Triune God i.e three Persons in one Godhead. Each of them has the same essence and nature. 2 Corinthians 13:14 makes mention of the three Persons as part of a single formula. However, the answer to the above question is also NO because these three Persons serve very different functions. Firstly, God the Father is the Creator of our world and is also the Godhead whom we direct our prayers to as evident in start of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9) which makes mention of “Our Father in heaven.” Secondly, we have access to God the Father because we first believed in the second Person – God the Son and we pray with His authority. Lastly, the third Person i.e the Holy Spirit who helps and teaches us how to pray as evident in Romans 8:26-27.
Q: I have accepted Jesus as my God and Savior recently. What should be my next step?
It would be best if you get in touch with a local church and start participating in the weekly service and cell group meetings. It will be most helpful if you can attend a short lesson on what does accepting Jesus into your life entails. That way, you will have a better understanding of the decision you have made. We are sure there are many people who will welcome you warmly into their church family and help you along in various ways. Drop us a note if you are interested in attending a local church.
Q: What is water baptism? Must I be water baptized to ensure my salvation?
Water baptism is a symbolic burial process whereby a Christian publicly identifies with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. By being immersed under water, the believer is professing the belief that his own carnal flesh is being put to death. By being immediately raised out from the water, the believer is professing the desire to begin a new life in Christ. Essentially, water baptism is an outward demonstration of the inward change produced by repentance accompanied by the faith we confessed in Jesus Christ. (Acts 2:38). As Christians, we are strongly encouraged to be water baptized if we are sure of our commitment to God in order to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15).
However, water baptism is not some magical ritual which makes you right before God. It is just a symbolic act of righteousness with no power to save you. We are not saved by our works as spelled out clearly in Titus 3:5. Ultimately you will still need to believe in Jesus and confess that He is the Lord and Savior of your life in order to be saved.
Q: What is prayer?
Prayer is simply talking to God. Communication is an important key to the success of every
relationship, including our relationship with God. Talking to God is like talking to your friend.
The Bible gives us an outline of what we can pray for in Matthew 6:9-13. One of the things we can tell God is our needs and worries, with an expectation that our prayers can be answered.
The Bible also tells us to pray in a room, away from distractions, ensuring quality time spent with God (Matthew 6:6).
Q: How do I know that I am saved?
The Word of God says that we can obtain salvation by believing in Jesus and His work on the cross & by confessing that He is Lord & Savior as stated explicitly in Romans 10:9-10.
Q: How do we know that the contents of the Bible are true?
The Bible is a compilation of 66 books written by over 40 individual authors. These 66 books record events over a period of more than 1,600 years. We can measure the credibility of the Bible against 2 tests, namely the test of archaeology and the test of prophecies. Over 25,000 archaeological sites have been discovered that pertains to the Bible. For example, the Bible detailed Israel’s exodus from Egypt and the subsequent parting of the Red Sea by God in order to allow the Israelites to flee from the pursuing Egyptian army. Archaeologists have actually discovered chariot wheels found embedded in coral at the land bridge of the Red Sea thus correlating the biblical account to actual physical findings.
Many biblical prophecies too came to pass. For instance, the prophet Daniel accurately predicted in about 538 BC (Daniel 9:24-27) that Christ would come as the Savior of Israel after the Jews were given authority to rebuild the ruined city of Jerusalem by the Persian emperor. This prophecy was fulfilled several centuries later. Also there were many facts in the Bible that appeared way before the principles of modern science were discovered. One instance can be found in Isaiah 40:22 where Isaiah the prophet proclaimed that the earth was round. He would have made Aristotle the Greek philosopher very proud!