1. What are some of the most important things we should believe about God?
Among the most important truths about God are the following: There is only one true God. This one God is eternal, all-knowing, everywhere present, spiritual, invisible, all-powerful, wise, patient, compassionate, loving, just, holy, and unchanging in his being. He exists as three persons whom the Bible reveals as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three persons together form the Holy Trinity. God created the world in the beginning as a perfect world which he himself said was “very good.” He created a man and a woman in his own image and put them in charge of the earth and all creatures on the earth. He continues to maintain and sustain the world but will eventually judge all people who have ever lived. In his mercy he will grant everlasting life to all those who have repented of their sin and put their trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. In his justice, he will destroy those who refuse to repent and refuse to put their trust in God and his Son Jesus. He will then establish a new heaven and a new earth and will reign forever with his redeemed people who will live in perfect and never-ending joy and peace.

2. Can we fully understand everything the Bible teaches about God?
No. Because God is eternal, infinite, and Triune (three in one), there are many things we cannot fully understand about God or his ways. We should not expect to be able to understand everything about God with our human limitations and finite existence any more than animals can fully understand us as human beings. It is important, therefore, that we do not reject something which the Bible says simply because we cannot understand it or do not like it. If we reject something which the Bible clearly teaches, we are making ourselves judges of the Bible rather than submitting our limited knowledge and understanding to the eternal truth of God’s holy Word. God’s truth stands eternal and supreme whether or not we can understand all if it.

3. Why is it significant for us that there is only one true God?
 If there were more gods than the one true God, each god would be extremely limited by the existence, power, and authority of the other gods. We would live in constant uncertainty concerning the power and authority of OUR god in relation to other gods. And we would probably often wonder if the gods were jealous of one another or in conflict with one another—as people are. If there actually were many gods, it would be impossible for us to love and serve each one with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Our loyalties would always be somewhat divided. And we could never find the peace and confidence and joy we now have in knowing and serving the one and only true God.

4. What would your life be like if there were no God?
If there were no true God, we would not exist at all. But just supposing we somehow existed and God did not, we would have to depend completely on ourselves or other human beings for everything. There would be no way to find genuine forgiveness, no sure hope for the future, no divine power to bless, encourage, comfort and strengthen us, no divine power to administer justice, and no one with divine love and compassion to be concerned about our present or future well-being. The ultimate power on earth would be found in the persons with the greatest wealth, prestige, or influence, and no one could contest their judgments, decisions, or actions. There might possibly be some earthly authorities or powers who would encourage people to act justly and compassionately, but their powers would be very limited and their influence would be very temporary. Relatively few powerful dictators in history have been genuinely kind and benevolent, and none of them has stayed in power for more than (at most) a few decades. If there is no righteous and powerful Judge, the evils of this world would never be set right, life would have little meaning, and mankind would have little enduring hope.

5. What would your life be like if there was a God but you did not know Him personally?
Regrettably, there are millions and millions of people who do not know the true God. Some of these people live reasonably comfortable lives as they focus on their earthly activities and do not even try to deal with guilt, sin, or moral failure and do not believe in or bother with the possibility of life after death. As far as they are concerned, this life is all there is. Some of those who believe this way do demonstrate a significant concern about others and seek to help them make the most of their earthly life. Others focus on getting everything they can for themselves without bothering at all about others. Whether they are kind or selfish, however, they miss the greatest blessings possible for us on this earth—knowing the love and mercy and grace of God. They totally cut themselves off from the incredible eternal blessings which are promised to those who know and love and trust God as he has revealed himself to us in the Bible and in his Son Jesus Christ.

6. Why is it wrong to make idols or images of God?
God has strongly and repeatedly commanded us in the Bible not to make images or idols of himself. There is no way in which any image or idol can even begin to meaningfully represent the eternal, almighty, infinite, compassionate Creator and Judge of our world. Every image or idol, no matter how big or artistic or expensive, would belittle and misrepresent God, the eternal Spirit. Besides, if someone was able to make a beautiful idol of some kind, many people would soon be worshiping the idol rather than the God which the idol supposedly represented. Throughout history people have been led astray by their idols and images. God has never been glorified or honored by any human effort to represent him with a physical image. As Jesus himself said: “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).

7. What are some of the things people can learn about God if they do not have a Bible or someone to teach them?
God has revealed himself in history through his work of creation, through miracles, through changing the lives of those who trusted in him, and through his divine intervention at various points throughout history. Even without the Bible or a teacher, people can know from the created world that God is real, mighty, wise, orderly, and glorious. They can know from the growth of crops, the taste of food, and the enjoyment of other pleasures that God is generous and delightful. They can know from their own conscience that God is righteous, because their conscience can sense that right and wrong are defined by Someone outside themselves. By seeing that all people die and that all governments eventually fail, they can see that God is just and punishes sinful humanity with death. They can know from hearing about miracles or observing transformed Christians that God is supernaturally active among people still today. (See Psalm 19:1-4, Romans 1:19, Acts 14:16-17 Deuteronomy 10:17-18; Psalm 4:1-3, Psalm 50:6, Psalm 89:5-8, Psalm 97:6, Psalm 104:1-31, Psalm 147:16-18, Psalm 148:6-13, Isaiah 6:3, Isaiah 40:21-26, Daniel 2:21, 46-47.) It’s true, of course, that many people do not acknowledge God or praise him, even though they see God’s handiwork in creation, or taste God’s goodness in daily blessings, or sense God’s righteousness through the voice of conscience, or observe God’s just wrath in the reality of death. However, even when people suppress their knowledge of God, those who do so are without excuse, as Romans 1:19 says.

8. What can you learn about God from the Bible that you cannot learn in any other way?
The Bible teaches us many spiritual truths that cannot be taught through nature or natural events. For example, the Bible teaches us about the love and righteousness and holiness of God as well as other attributes of God. It also teaches us about right and wrong, obedience and disobedience, punishment, justice, forgiveness, compassion, hope, heaven and hell. The Bible clearly teaches us about Jesus, the way of salvation through Christ alone, and the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The Bible also describes the kind of life that honors God and teaches us what displeases or dishonors him. In the Bible we read stories that encourage us, warn us, inform us, and enable us to better understand the ways of God in this world and in the lives of his people. The Bible teaches many other things that we do not learn just by observing nature or history—things about holiness, mercy, prayer, personal sacrifice, dedication, family, marriage, government, giving, witnessing, and other parts of daily life.

9. If you had only 20 minutes to teach someone about God, what are the things you would talk about?
Your answer may depend to some extent on a person’s age, background, education, interests, and circumstances. However, there are certain basic or fundamental truths about God which are so important that every person, young or old, well-educated or uneducated, rich or poor, weak or strong, should know. Included would be such things as the fact that there is only one true God who is perfectly holy and just, the creator of the world, the divine and righteous judge of every person, and a God of mercy, forgiveness, and love. Everyone should also know that God sent his only begotten Son into the world to give his life as an atonement for our sin and to give us the joy and hope of eternal life with him in glory. Helpful Scripture verses would include such passages as John 4:24, 1 Timothy 6:15-16, Exodus 34:6-7 and John 3:16. The primary purpose of asking this question is to help you focus on some basic truths which you should be able to present to any person at any time without hesitation and with strong Biblical support.
 
10. What are some of the truths about God which are most important to you personally?
Think about this, meditate on God’s awesome reality, and explore what truths of God have stirred your heart.

Last modified: Monday, August 6, 2018, 12:00 PM