Jesus and the cross are extremely confusing and we are abandoned

Uber Genius said:

We are called to a daily reliance on God, not our foreknowledge of future events, and the meaning of suffering in our lives.


This area of theology is known as the assurance of salvation.

How can I have assurance of my salvation?

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ldonjohn said:

DarkSoul, I can identify with your confusion about God, Jesus, hell, believing, etc.
Many years ago when I was a young man I found myself asking many of the same questions you are asking today. I did not understand how Jesus dying on the cross saved anyone from hell. I wasn't even sure if the bible was true or if God was real. I wanted to know the truth of it all, and I wanted to know that when I died I would NOT spend eternity in hell if there was a hell. I realized that the bible just might be true and if it is then I wanted to know how to believe it or how to “solve the puzzle of faith,” as you put it, so that I would not end up in hell.

After several years of asking questions, reading books about God, Jesus, and the bible, and listening to preachers I found myself still as confused as when I started my search for the truth about the matter.

I came to the conclusion that there was NO way anyone could ever know that he/she had done whatever God expected of them so that He, God, would give them eternal life. I thought that I would have to die before I would know where I would spend eternity, and that thought scared the hell out of me.

DarkSoul, I can say today, some 40 years later, that I did find the answer. I did find the truth about God, the Bible, and Jesus. I did find the solution to that “puzzle of faith.” (By the way, I have never heard of it described that way, but I like that and just might use that sometime.)

That puzzle was solved for me in a way that I never expected. It was not solved for me in a dream, not in a vision, not through some man's reasoning, or logic, not through the wisdom of man, etc., etc.

Actually, some other posters have made reference to the method I found to solve the puzzle.

I'm not educated in bible studies, not a minister, not involved in any kind of Christian ministry other than just sharing my Christian “experience” with others.

DarkSoul, God is a spirit, and the spirit of an unbeliever is in a state of darkness; a state of spiritual blindness which means that we cannot understand spiritual matters. In other words we are blind to the truth about God. That is the reason you cannot understand the purpose for God sending Jesus into the world to die on that cross, and the reason you cannot find the kind of faith that God requires of us that will guarantee we have eternal life with Him. That was the reason I struggled for many years trying to understand it all, but could not find any evidence that convinced me that it was real.

But God wants to bring us out of that state of spiritual blindness so we can see & understand the reason He sent Jesus into the world, and He provided a way for that to happen. He has given all the evidence we need, but again our problem is that we can't see that evidence.

You could talk to and ask every Christian in the world about how to solve that “faith puzzle,” and you will probably get some scripture quoted to you which would be pointing you in the right direction. The evidence we need IS found in scripture, but again, we can't see that evidence with out blind spiritual eyes.

I hope you are now asking yourself “how did this guy find the evidence if he was blind and could not see it? That doesn't make sense!” Well, let me explain that.

God wants us to find Him; to find the truth about Him; to find the “faith” we need to “believe” in Him so that He can give us eternal life with Him. He, God, really isn't hiding from us, and we CAN find Him if we will seek for Him as though finding Him means more to us than anything else in life. The place to find the evidence of the truth about God is in the Bible. Please don't turn me off now; please stay with me; I have been where you are and I know right now I'm not making sense to you, because it didn't make sense to me either. But, the faith puzzle does have a solution; I was just like you are now; I thought there was no way to know how to have faith in Jesus, but there is, and I can show you. It won't cost you anything; I'm not trying to sell anything; I just want you to see the same thing I saw. I want you to find the same answer to the “faith puzzle” that I found, and when you find it your eyes will be opened so that you can see the truth about God.

I have suggested to people that they will find the truth about God & Jesus if they would read the Gospel of John because that is the place I found the truth I needed that convinced me to believe in Jesus. Some of them have told me that they have read the Gospel of John, the Book of John, many times, but nothing happened to them; that they did not find anything there that convinced them that any of it was true; that their lives were not changed by reading the Gospel of John in the way my life was changed.

Now I'm ready to get to the heart of the matter of how to find the solution to that “faith puzzle.” (Again, I like that) You probably don't want any scriptures quoted, but I must use at least one, so please don't turn me off. In Jeremiah 29:13 God says that anyone can find Him if that person will seek Him with all their heart. He, God is saying that we can find the truth about Him & can know Him if we will seek that truth as though finding it is more important than anything else in our lives. That was what happened to me and I didn't know much about scripture; certainly had never heard of Jeremiah 29:13.

You might be thinking “How can I seek God when I don't know if He is real? How do I know Jesus is real? How do I believe in Jesus if He is real?” Those are the questions I asked.

Well, I have a suggestion. This was what I did. I wasn't sure God was real, wasn't sure the bible was the truth, and didn't understand what “believe in Jesus” meant even if He was real. But, after many years of talking to people, reading books about God/Jesus, listing to preachers, etc. and still thinking I would NEVER know how to find faith in Jesus, one night, when I went to bed, I was confused, afraid, and desperate, so out of a sense of hopelessness I looked up at the ceiling and said the following prayer to a God I wasn't even sure existed, “God, will you show me the truth about believing in Jesus?” I slept better that night than I had slept in a long time. The next day I did something I had never done at home, I found a bible, opened it to the Gospel of John and started reading verse 1. Now, I had read in that book at church when I was a kid, but I really didn't care about God at that time in my life, and it meant nothing to me then. But, this time, God saw that I was desperately seeking to know the truth about Him and that I desperately wanted to “believe” or to find the kind of faith that He required. Again, I wasn't even sure that God existed or that the bible was true, but I was ready to accept whatever I found there that night as I read in the Gospel of John if it convinced me that it was the truth. God saw that I was seeking Him with all my heart and He did exactly what He said He would do in Jeremiah 29:13. God allowed me to see the truth. Remember, God is a spirit and we are spiritually blind, but God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit will give us spiritual light so we can see spiritual truth when we seek God in the right way.(Jeremiah 29:13) AND that is what He did for me as I read the Gospel of John. I began to see & to understand the truth about God, and about who Jesus is and the reason He came into the world. I found the truth there that I thought I could never know. By the time I read through chapter 6 the Holy Spirit had completely convinced me that the bible is the absolute truth, that God is real, and that Jesus will do exactly what He say He will do. John 6:37 was one of the verses that especially spoke to me. God gave me the answer to the “faith puzzle” because He totally convinced me that Jesus did everything He, God, required for me to have eternal life with Him. I found the evidence I was looking for, but that evidence was not what I had expected to find. Actually, I had no idea of what I would find as I began to read in the bible that night; I just wanted to find something that would help me believe God. That evidence was the Holy Spirit; He made it real; He removed the blindness from my spiritually blinded eyes so that I could see God and see truth.

Now, you might be thinking “This guy is nuts. I've heard that Holy Ghost stuff before. That's all a bunch of nonsense. Well, I will admit that I have heard stuff about the Holy Ghost that is not biblical. I've heard stuff about God & about Jesus that is not true. I have learned that sometimes we need to check things others say about God, about the bible, about Jesus, and about Christianity in scripture to see if they are truth, because many times they are not. I don't know how I would have reacted to a story like this 40 years ago when I was struggling to find God; I might have been inclined to brush it off as something that would to happen to me. I just know that the solution to that “faith puzzle” is the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. I hope you will not take my story as one that does not apply to your situation.

If you are still reading, I am asking that you do not give up trying to find your answer to the “faith puzzle.” You can find the answer. You can KNOW God!

I don't know your heart or your mind, but if you are not sure God is real, would you be willing to do the following?

Tell God that you want to know the truth about Him. That you are willing to accept whatever He reveals to you from His Word, and that you are going to search His word for that truth. Ask God to show you how to have faith in Jesus. Then get a good bible translation. you might ask someone about that. Just be careful because I've heard that there are some translations that have changed the truth. I still like the KJV because I was totally ignorant about the bible and the KJV was the bible I was reading when God showed me the very truth I needed to believe. Next, I suggest that you read the Gospel of John expecting to find the truth there as you read it. Also, read Romans. If you don't find anything there that changes your mind about the truth of God & Jesus, then re-read those books. You might also read Galatians and Corinthians; read the entire New Testament. The important thing is that you really want to find the truth; that you really mean business with God about knowing Him. Read & re-read over and over until God's Spirit begins to show you the truth. He will do that for you when He sees that you earnestly seek to know Him. Remember Jeremiah 29:13. If you will do this, God will open your eyes to the truth, and you can know how to have faith, because God will give you the faith you need. That is another scripture by the way in Ephesians.

Well, I sat at my computer for about 2 hours writing this response to your post. I could have been doing other things, but I want to help you find your answer. I hope you don't dismiss my response thinking I'm some sort of religious nut who thinks he knows everything about God. Actually, I used to think Christians were a bunch of hypocrites who thought they were better that the rest of us, then I realized that I was the hypocrite.

Regards,

John

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ldonjohn said:

DarkSoul, the focus of my anxiety WAS my struggle to find a settled peace & assurance of knowing that I had done whatever God required of me to have my sins forgiven and to know that my eternity was secure in God. I think the reason God's Holy Spirit began to work in my spirit to allow me to see the truth about the bible, God, and how to truly believe in Jesus was that I turned my focus from myself, from the things I was doing, to focus on God's Word. In others words I simple gave up on myself and turned to God in a sense of desperation in total reliance upon Him to show me whatever it was I needed from His Word to find a settled peace about my relationship with Jesus, and soon after I began to read in the Gospel of John I found my answer and I found the peace I so desperately needed. Today, some 40 years later, I still have that settled peace & assurance which is not of anything "I" have done, but is focused on the finished work of Jesus at the cross.

Jesus said "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30.KJV)

Anyway, instead of trying to suppress the anxiety yourself, you might just give it to Jesus and allow Him to help you. I have been there and I know it is not easy to just turn things over to God, but what really helped me was reading the Bible. Psalms and the Gospels helped me.

What I am trying to say or to suggest is that you should focus on Jesus and not on yourself.

Another suggestion is that you might consider getting yourself checked out by a licensed medical professional to see if there are any underlying health issues that could be causing the anxiety. Also you might consider getting help from a licensed counselor, or you might talk to your pastor.

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AvgJoe said:

Question: "Why does God allow evil?"

Answer: The Bible describes God as holy (Isaiah 6:3), righteous (Psalm 7:11), just (Deuteronomy 32:4), and sovereign (Daniel 4:17-25). These attributes tell us the following about God: (1) God is capable of preventing evil, and (2) God desires to rid the universe of evil. So, if both of these are true, why does God allow evil? If God has the power to prevent evil and desires to prevent evil, why does He still allow evil? Perhaps a practical way to look at this question would be to consider some alternative ways people might have God run the world:

1) God could change everyone’s personality so that they cannot sin. This would also mean that we would not have a free will. We would not be able to choose right or wrong because we would be “programmed” to only do right. Had God chosen to do this, there would be no meaningful relationships between Him and His creation.

Instead, God made Adam and Eve innocent but with the ability to choose good or evil. Because of this, they could respond to His love and trust Him or choose to disobey. They chose to disobey. Because we live in a real world where we can choose our actions but not their consequences, their sin affected those who came after them (us). Similarly, our decisions to sin have an impact on us and those around us and those who will come after us.

2) God could compensate for people’s evil actions through supernatural intervention 100 percent of the time. God would stop a drunk driver from causing an automobile accident. God would stop a lazy construction worker from doing a substandard job on a house that would later cause grief to the homeowners. God would stop a father who is addicted to drugs or alcohol from doing any harm to his wife, children, or extended family. God would stop gunmen from robbing convenience stores. God would stop high school bullies from tormenting the brainy kids. God would stop thieves from shoplifting. And, yes, God would stop terrorists from flying airplanes into buildings.

While this solution sounds attractive, it would lose its attractiveness as soon as God’s intervention infringed on something we wanted to do. We want God to prevent horribly evil actions, but we are willing to let “lesser-evil” actions slide—not realizing that those “lesser-evil” actions are what usually lead to the “greater-evil” actions. Should God only stop actual sexual affairs, or should He also block our access to pornography or end any inappropriate, but not yet sexual, relationships? Should God stop “true” thieves, or should He also stop us from cheating on our taxes? Should God only stop murder, or should He also stop the “lesser-evil” actions done to people that lead them to commit murder? Should God only stop acts of terrorism, or should He also stop the indoctrination that transformed a person into a terrorist?

3) Another choice would be for God to judge and remove those who choose to commit evil acts. The problem with this possibility is that there would be no one left, for God would have to remove us all. We all sin and commit evil acts (Romans 3:23; Ecclesiastes 7:20; 1 John 1:8). While some people are more evil than others, where would God draw the line? Ultimately, all evil causes harm to others.

Instead of these options, God has chosen to create a “real” world in which real choices have real consequences. In this real world of ours, our actions affect others. Because of Adam’s choice to sin, the world now lives under the curse, and we are all born with a sin nature (Romans 5:12). There will one day come a time when God will judge the sin in this world and make all things new, but He is purposely “delaying” in order to allow more time for people to repent so that He will not need to condemn them (2 Peter 3:9). Until then, He IS concerned about evil. When He created the Old Testament laws, the goal was to discourage and punish evil. He judges nations and rulers who disregard justice and pursue evil. Likewise, in the New Testament, God states that it is the government’s responsibility to provide justice in order to protect the innocent from evil (Romans 13). He also promises severe consequences for those who commit evil acts, especially against the "innocent" (Mark 9:36-42).

In summary, we live in a real world where our good and evil actions have direct consequences and indirect consequences upon us and those around us. God’s desire is that for all of our sakes we would obey Him that it might be well with us (Deuteronomy 5:29). Instead, what happens is that we choose our own way, and then we blame God for not doing anything about it. Such is the heart of sinful man. But Jesus came to change men’s hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit, and He does this for those who will turn from evil and call on Him to save them from their sin and its consequences (2 Corinthians 5:17). God does prevent and restrain some acts of evil. This world would be MUCH WORSE were not God restraining evil. At the same time, God has given us the ability to choose good and evil, and when we choose evil, He allows us, and those around us, to suffer the consequences of evil. Rather than blaming God and questioning God on why He does not prevent all evil, we should be about the business of proclaiming the cure for evil and its consequences—Jesus Christ!

www.gotquestions.org/God-allow-evil.html

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Lost4words said:

The devil rules the earth, for now. He wants everyone but he ain't getting everyone!

We go to God with faith. Its not meant to be a walk in the park. Jesus suffered, why shouldn't we, the world?

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Serving Zion said:

One more thought for you @CodySmith, in light of this information and Matthew 13:24-30. Jesus said the world would know that we are His disciples by the love we have for one another, and 1 Corinthians 13 lists some distinctive properties of love. I suggest you study that list very attentively as it is essential to recognise love as distinct from flattery, and truth apart from knowledge, in order to stay safe in the midst of wolves while of the same mind as The Shepherd (1 Corinthians 2:14-16).

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