Bible

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile

The requirements of the law are written on our hearts

This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God

God demonstrates his own love for us, while we were still sinners, christ died for us

Dead to sin - Alive in Christ

'What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means. We are those who have died to sin, how can we live in it any longer (Verse 1-2)

Our old self was crucified with him (Verse 6)

Therefore count yourselves dead to sin but alive to god in Christ Jesus (Verse 11)

“For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”

Our present sufferings aren’t worthy to the glory that will be revealed to us

I will have mercy on whom i have mercy and compassion on whom I have compassion

It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on god's mercy

If you declare with your mouth 'Jesus is lord' and believe in your heart that god raised him from the dead, you will be saved

Everyone who calls on the name of the lord will be saved

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again

For my fathers will is that everyone who looks to the son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day

I will ask the father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you for ever - the spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you

The Vine and the Branches

You did not choose me, but i chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit - fruit that will last - and so whatever you ask in my name the father will give you. This

If the world hates you, keep in mind it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, that is why the world hates you.

I baptise with water for repentance but one comes after me who baptises with the holy spirit and fire

- Judging Others
- Ask, seek and knock
- Narrow and Wide gates
- False prophets and disciples

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life and only a few find it

Watch out for false prophets, they come to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognise them

Not everyone who says 'lord lord', will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven ..... I will tell them plainly 'I never knew you, away from me you evildoers'.

Titus 3:5 - He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy

Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - Not by works so no one can boast.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (--> GO TO ROMANS 3:21)

I know your deeds, that you are neither hot nor cold, I wish you were either one or the other! So because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth

They claim to know god, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,

he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

Whoever says 'I know him' but does not do what he commands is a liar and the truth is not in that person... Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the father is not in them. For everything in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of the life - come not from the father but the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of the father lives for ever.

“They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭2‬:‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

No one who is born of god will continue to sin, because gods seed remains in them

False Teachers and Prophets

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

We know that we are children of god and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one

If righteousness could be gained through the law, then Christ died for nothing

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathise with our weaknesses but one who has been tempted in every single way - just as we are and yet he did not sin

Hebrews 9 talks about the worship of the early tabernacle and how the blood of Christ is the penultimate and final offering. He is the lamb of god who died for all to give eternal redemption

Hebrews 9:14
“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”
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Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral

“God didn’t create death—it entered the world because of sin. But He’s not distant or cold towards our pain. Jesus wept at a funeral. He understands. And in Jesus, death is not the end. It’s heartbreaking, but God promises that in Him, there is eternal life, and one day, no more tears. Thus, death still hurts. But I do know that God is just, merciful, and deeply loving. The Bible says He doesn’t want anyone to perish and doesnt take pleasure in the death of anyone, rather he just wants all to come to repentance.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Proverbs 14:12 - There is a way that seems right to man but its end is the way to death —> Romans 6:23: for the wages of sin is death

Proverbs 3:5 - Trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding

John 10:10 - the thief comes only to steal and destroy, I have come that you may have life and life to the fullest (Jesus didn’t come to steal our youth but give us real life)

Collosians 3:2 - set your mind on things above, not on earthly things

The truth is we lack the spiritual maturity and capability to fully comprehend what Jesus did for us on that cross and what we have inherited as part of being Gods children.

Corinthians 5:7 says we live by faith, not by sight and this is difficult as we are asked to approach an unseen glory whilst surronded by seen temptation

The truth is this struggle isn’t failure but the cost of trusting in something our heart cant fully comprehend. Corinthians 2:9 - What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no human mind has concieved - the things that god has prepared for those who love him

Scripture doesn’t give us every detail of heaven, but it gives enough to build anticipation:
• No sin or shame (Revelation 21:4)
• Pure joy in God’s presence (Psalm 16:11)
• Fulfillment, rest, beauty, purpose (Hebrews 4, Revelation 22)

As 1 John 1:8 says “if we say we are without sin, we decieve ourselves and the truth is not in us”

Yet the bible also teaches:
Corinthians 5:17 -‘ therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come’

So in humility we admit we are sinful, but this label applies to our past self and ongoing struggle. Our new identity is one no longer defined by sin but now as “children of light” (eph 5:8). Its in Jesus only that forgiveness is found and a grace that can renew us and culminate rebirth into an individual who seeks to live more like christ every day

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” — John 6:44
“There is no one righteous, not even one... no one who seeks God.” — Romans 3:10–11
“You were dead in your transgressions and sins...” — Ephesians 2:1
“You refuse to come to me that you may have life.” — John 5:40
“They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” — 2 Thessalonians 2:10

A dead person can't raise themselves to life. Unless God acts first, we will not choose Him.
“The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.” — Acts 16:14

Predestination isn’t about a cold system. It’s about a merciful God who saves undeserving people, enters their story, and calls them into eternal joy. God has mercy on whom he has mercy and compassion on whom he has compassion and thus God actively chooses to save some (grace) and He passes over others, leaving them in their sin and rebellion (justice).

Remember this is not injustice. No one deserves mercy, but rather we all deserve wrath as God is not obligated to save anyone. So when he does, he is gracious, and when he doesnt, he is just

Imagine ten guilty criminals on death row.
- The judge pardons three, adopts them as sons, and gives them a new life.
- The remaining seven are left to justice—they receive the punishment they earned.

Is the judge unjust for not pardoning them all?
- No—he’s just. The pardoning is mercy, not obligation.

1. If God saved everyone, there would be no demonstration of His justice or righteous judgment against evil. God’s plan reveals the full spectrum of who He is—not just love, but holiness, justice, patience, wrath, grace. — Romans 9:22–23 “What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy…?”

2. Grace must be freely given to be grace at all. If God were obligated to save everyone, then grace would no longer be grace—it would be entitlement. Salvation is a gift, not a universal guarantee.

Here’s the mystery: The Bible does express God's desire for all to be saved eg; John 3:16, but his sovereign will is to save some and permit sin, for His glory and purposes.

Trials and Temptations and Listening and doing

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The bible teaches both: God predestines AND Humans are responsible (No we cannot fully understand how these fit (Isaiah 55 & Deut 29:29) )
- God chooses whom He will save before the foundation of the world and thus faith isn't something we produce on our own, it is granted by God
(Romans 9:16, Ephesians 1:5, John 6:44, Philipians 1:29)
- We are still accountable for rejecting God as people freely reject Him, and they are morally accountable for doing so
(Romans 1:20, Acts 17:30, Matthew 23:37)

Nonetheless, the GOAT paul anticipates this very objection in Romans 9:19-21. Paul reminds us that "God will have mercy on whom he has mercy and hardens whom he wants to harden" and that scripture never gives a full answer for why God doesn't save everyone but we do know its too display his mercy (on the elect) and justice (on the retrobate)

The bottom line:
1) God created all for his glory (both believers and unbelievers)
2) God doesn't force unbelief, Sin does (and god doesnt force sin either --> James 1:13)
3) Salvation is a gift not a right (it wouldnt be grace if he owed it to us all)

The truth is, if somebody is wrestling with this, its likely a sign that God is calling them and drawing them near (John 6:37 - whoever comes to me I will never cast out)

In the case your asked a question that shows some sort of spiritual sensitvity eg; “If God knew I wouldn’t believe, why did He create me?” or “Why doesn’t God save everyone?” that reveals a kind of longing, frustration, or unease that many hardened hearts simply do not have. Heres what you could say:
“The fact that you're even asking this and wondering about God, struggling with these deep questions. It is not random. That desire to understand, to know God’s heart, is often a sign that He’s already drawing you. the bible teaches us in John 6 that No one seeks God on their own and If you’re seeking Him, He may already be seeking you. The truth is most people don’t care at all. But the fact that you care, that you’re troubled, that you’re seeking… that may be God softening your heart and opening your eyes".

Taste and see that the lord is good

“Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”

Cosmological Argument - whatever begins to exist has a cause. The universe exists, thus it has a cause. Modern Science points towards the big bang, a clear beginning of time, space and matter. Using this same logic, the cause must be outside of time, space and matter, all qualities of a God -- Timeless, spaceless and immaterial.

Fine Tuning Argument - the physical constants of the universe (gravity, cosmological constant, ratio of forces, etc.) are precisely set for life with the odds of this happening by chance being extremely low. Fine tuning points towards an intelligent designer

Moral Argument - If objective moral values exist, then God exists. Objective morals do exist (e.g., murder is wrong everywhere, at all times). Therefore, God exists. Without God, morals are just opinions or social constructs, but our deep sense of right and wrong points to a moral lawgiver. --> Romans 2:15 "Written the law on your hearts"

Ressurection of Jesus - Christianity and our faith hinges on whether Jesus really did rise from the dead. The historical evidence (empty tomb, disciples’ transformation, early eyewitness accounts, The bible being too intricate and consistent across authors, times, and cultures to be fabricated as a myth.) is strong and best explained by Jesus truly rising.

If someone posits that there is so much evil in the world, they are therefore saying that evil is something. This beautiful world has been polluted by what is 'evil' testifying that there is an objective standard by which this is weighed. Evil is what is objectively bad, thus there are things in this world that are objectively good - implying there is a moral law. Now what we need to find out is who is this moral law giver?

- If we get rid of God, removing him from the picture, we run into a lot of issues. Without God as a moral law giver, evil is just purposeless. It doesn't matter why we struggle with wickedness in this world. If there is no moral lawgiver, evil is just a matter of opinion, and we are just bags of meat running into eachother. This is a problematic outlook on the world

- If we have God, we have hope. Our hearts ultimately yearn for justice, eg; If there is no justice, Hitler would not be punished. Thus in the athiestic worldview, injustice has the final word, not a sovereign and just God. More importantly the existence of God offers hope and healing through Jesus, who entered into suffering and overcame it.

Three main questions to ask as a general rule. Most importantly, know its not your job to refute their position but for them to support their position. So you can ask:
1) "What do you mean it's been changed throughout the centuries?'. Then you can also ask,
2) "Whats your evidence for this?". Most often, they have no basis for this belief but have bought into catchy slogans and other propaganda.
3) "Have you ever considered that the way we got the bible was people who were eyewitnesses or who knew eye witnesses wrote down what they saw. And after these original documents where written they were copied, contributing to over 6000 greek manuscripts from the new testament alone (more than any other ancient text) which when compared with eachother, we can reconstruct the original with 99% accuracy. If we deny the bibles accuracy, we must throw out every other anicent text.
- Yes there are scribal errors, but less than 1% of variants are meaningful, and none affect core Christian doctrine (e.g., deity of Christ, resurrection, salvation)

CONCLUSION: History shows it’s the best-preserved ancient book we have. The real question is, do I believe the message it contains? It tells me God entered history in Jesus, who lived, died, and rose again for our salvation. If that’s true, it changes everything.

The elementary principles of Christ are foundational teachings of Christianity, primarily outlined in Hebrews 6:1-2. These principles include:
Repentance from dead works: Turning away from sin and submitting one's life to God.
Faith toward God: Trusting in and relying on God.
Doctrine of baptisms: Instruction about different types of baptisms, such as water and Spirit baptism.
Laying on of hands: A practice related to anointing, the miraculous, or the bestowing of the Holy Spirit.
Resurrection of the dead: The belief in a future resurrection.
Eternal judgment: The accountability for one's actions and the final judgment