Ex-Atheist's Qustions

[americianhardcorechristian]

Ok so here are my questions. (Sorry I have so many) :

1. How do I know Im 100% saved?
2. Is there any set way to pray?
3. Why are there so gods, and how do I know if I've chosen the right one?

 

[Super Gnat]

Don't ever apologize for asking questions. How else are you going to find out the answers?

As for these particular questions:

1. Romans 10:9-13: if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Have you confessed with your mouth, and do you believe with your heart? Then you're saved. It's just that easy.

2. There isn't a set *way* to pray, but Jesus did tell us how we should pray.

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.' For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

3. We know by faith, and by what God does in our lives. If you have doubts, ask God to give you faith, and look at the changes He makes your life.

You might want to think about reading through the book of Romans in a modern translation, such as NIV or NASB. In it, Paul, an apostle, is writing to a church he has never visited. He lays out the basics of the Gospel and the Christian faith, since he can't visit them and tell them in person. There's a lot of really good stuff in there, and it may answer some of your future questions.

 

[AvgJoe]

3. Why are there gods, and how do I know if I've chosen the right one?

There is only one true God. He is the God of the Bible. If you want to get to know the living God, read your Bible. The New testament book of John is a great place to start.

1. How do I know Im 100% saved?

What did you do to become saved? Did you place your faith (belief & trust) in Jesus alone to pay your sin debt and save you? Did you do what it says in Romans 10:9-10, 13?

9) Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

10) For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.

13) For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invoking Him as Lord] will be saved.

If you placed your faith in Jesus, as the Scriptures say, then you are saved.

The book of 1 John, close to the end of the New Testament, is the book on how to know if you are saved. Chapter 2, verses 3-6 explains how we can know that we know Jesus:

3) And this is how we may discern [daily, by experience] that we are coming to know Him [to perceive, recognize, understand, and become better acquainted with Him]: if we keep (bear in mind, observe, practice) His teachings (precepts, commandments).

4) Whoever says, I know Him [I perceive, recognize, understand, and am acquainted with Him] but fails to keep and obey His commandments (teachings) is a liar, and the Truth [of the Gospel] is not in him.

5) But he who keeps (treasures) His Word [who bears in mind His precepts, who observes His message in its entirety], truly in him has the love of and for God been perfected (completed, reached maturity). By this we may perceive (know, recognize, and be sure) that we are in Him:

6)Whoever says he abides in Him ought [as a personal debt] to walk and conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself.

Chapter 3, verse 6 says that if we continue to sin, habitually, that we are not saved:

6) No one who abides in Him [who lives and remains in communion with and in obedience to Him--deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] commits (practices) sin. No one who [habitually] sins has either seen or known Him [recognized, perceived, or understood Him, or has had an experiential acquaintance with Him].

Chapter 3, verse 14 says that if we do not love our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are not saved:

14) We know that we have passed over out of death into Life by the fact that we love the brethren (our fellow Christians). He who does not love abides (remains, is held and kept continually) in [spiritual] death.

Chapter 4, verse 15 says,

15) Anyone who confesses (acknowledges, owns) that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides (lives, makes His home) in him and he [abides, lives, makes his home] in God.

What does it mean to confess that Jesus is the Son of God? It means that you are confessing that Jesus is God. Just as I am a son of my father, a son of man, I am man, Jesus is the son of His Father, the Son of God, He is God.

1 John was written so we can be certain, as it says in chapter 5, verse 13,

13) I write this to you who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) the name of the Son of God [in the peculiar services and blessings conferred by Him on men], so that you may know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that you [already] have life, yes, eternal life.

2. Is there any set way to pray?

In Matther 6:5-15, Jesus teaches about prayer and how to pray. He gives us a model prayer.

A good starting point for new Christians: http://www.bible-truth.org/NewConvertpage.html

All verses in this post are from the Amplified translation of the Bible. I hope this is helpful to you.

 

[rogsr]

Hello,

Along with the scriptures that have been cited already I will offer you some advice based upon my expierience as a christian convert.

You know you are saved because you feel it. Initial repentance is instantaneous. There is an apparent change which takes place within the convert. It is a change you notice.

As far as praying just always remember to be honest and open. Share your good and bad feelings, your good and bad desires, and confess your good and bad deeds. Open yourself completely to God.

There is one God but many interpretations. I urge you to study all of the major world religions. You will discover that we are all talking about the same Person and the same things. Also study science and philosophy, everything we learn as human beings brings us closer to God, even when it seems like it doesn't.

If you continue your conversion you will go through many changes, some soon and some later. It begins at the moment of conversion and ends when we are accepted into the communion of saints.

Good luck!

 

[Sketcher]

"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." - John 5:24

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand." - John 10:27-29

"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory." - Ephesians 1:13-14

 

[americianhardcorechristian]

oh ok so yes I am saved 100%, there are guidelines for prayer and I have chosen the right God...am I getting this all correct? (I thought I would ask that last question to make sure this is the right religion for me)

 

[Super Gnat]

For the prayer bit, don't worry so much about guidelines. Jesus didn't always pray the prayer I quoted above; for example, in the garden of Gethsemene, right before he was arrested, flogged, put on trial, and crucified, he prayed this way:

Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Simon," he said to Peter, "are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
Once more he went away and prayed the same thing.

The important things to note about the Lord's Prayer (which is what I quoted in my first post), are that it gives glory to God, it asks to be submitted to His will, it makes requests, it asks for forgiveness, and asks for righteousness. When you pray, these are the sorts of things you should pray about. You can see that in the garden of Gethesemene prayer. Jesus begged God for what he wanted, but ultimately prayed for God's will to be done in His life.

Some other places where people in the Bible pray:
Jesus prays for you in John 17.

Stephen, the first person to be killed for Christ, prays for those who are stoning him in Acts 7:59-60

Paul, who traveled all around the Mediterranean founding churches, mentions his prayers for them at many times in his letters, for example, in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-13, he mentions that he is continually praying for them.

In the Old Testament, Solomon gives a long prayer when the temple of the Lord is dedicated, which can be found at 1 Kings 8:22-53.

The Psalms can be considered prayers also.

 

[AvgJoe]

oh ok so yes I am saved 100%

Welcome to the Family of God!

 

[halfgallon]

These are all great answers, but I would add that different groups of Christians answer these questions differently.

On prayer, for example, some traditions hold that you should pray extemporaneously, but many of us use the Lord's Prayer, the Psalms, and other traditional prayers in addition to more personal compositions. Some use the text as a focus for meditation. People pray kneeling, standing, or walking a labyrinth; hands folded or open; aloud or silently.

It's a good idea to have a spiritual leader or be part of an in-real-life spiritual community to get a grounding in your new faith, and refer questions like these to them. I also like to use Wikipedia to get a general survey though, e.g. Salvation, Prayer.

 

[Harlan Norris]

Ok so here are my questions. (Sorry I have so many) :

1. How do I know Im 100% saved?
2. Is there any set way to pray?
3. Why are there so gods, and how do I know if I've chosen the right one?

When one's desire for salvation is greater than their desire for the things of this world.That is a sign of salvation.Jesus taught us how to pray,I think it's in Matt:,Read your Bible.To which God is time related?The whole world marks time from the birth of Christ.Of course there are arguements against this.However if one believes in God,one believes he does all things,whether they are obviously his doing or not.In this world, time is THE critical element.Nothing is more valuable.Time controls everything,everything is on the clock.That clock is marked from the birth of Christ.If there were another more powerful God,this would not be the case.

 

[happydapy]

:Is there any set way to pray?

When i was younger and got up for the 6am news I would watch a little 5 minute comercial that the first radio parish church would do and one of the issues they tackled was how to pray.
One example they gave was to put a chair infront of you and imagine God was sitting there. And have a conversation with him. Make sure it is reverent (I'm probably not using this word correctly). Its a time for you to open up completly with God and spend time with him.

As said by other posts on this thread the Bible does outline a way to pray, it was asked of Jesus how to pray and he told told them.

I hope this helped.

 

[Ave Maria]

You will only know that you are saved when you go to Heaven or Purgatory. There is no wrong way to pray. When you finish, just say "In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." You can also say this at the beginning. As for your third question, I'm not sure how to answer that. Sorry.

 

[Sketcher]

We have God's word of honor in the verses I shared along with many others. He won't break a covenant, and He made one with us.

 

[JPPT1974]

We have God's word of honor in the verses I shared along with many others. He won't break a covenant, and He made one with us.

Never has and never will my friend!