Many of today’s youth grow up in Christian churches, but are adopting very un-Christian beliefs. When we all stand before Him, will their names be found in the Lamb’s Book of Life? Maybe it’s time to re- check the status of your child’s faith by asking these basic Christian doctrinal questions. Answer yes or no.
1. Must a person believe in Jesus, and Him alone, to spend eternity with God?
2. Do Native Americans, witches, and Muslims pray to the same God as Christians?
3. Do all people go to heaven to be with God after they die?
4. Do good people who have done their best on earth go to heaven?
5. Can proud, practicing homosexuals be Christians?
6. Can people who have committed serious sins be truly saved by Jesus?
7. Will there be a judgment for our sins after we die?
8. Was tolerance the greatest message of Jesus?
9. Are homophobia, patriarchy and lack of reverence for the earth revealed to be sins in the Bible?
10. Is the Bible the Word of God?
11. Was Jesus present in the Old Testament?
12. Will Christians make the world a great place before Jesus returns?
13. Are all people the children of God?
14. Is the best way to encounter God meditating and repeating a certain spiritual phrase over and over?
15. Are Satan and demons real?
16. Are all powerful, beautiful spiritual experiences from God?
17. Can a true believer pray to Jesus or God in female form, such as a goddess?
18. Should Christians participate in services for Allah?
19. Would a true Christian believe in reincarnation?
20. Did God create the world rather than it happening by chance?
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1. Yes. Salvation comes through belief in Christ alone (John 3:16, John 14:6, Acts 4:12; Romans 5:9; Ephesians 1: 20-21; Philippians 2:9-10; 1 Peter 1:20-21;1 John 4:9-10).
2. No. There are huge differences. Our Trinitarian deity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) in no way resembles the Great Spirit, the earth goddess/god of pagans, or Allah. God forbids worship of any entity but Him. (Exodus 20:2-4; Matthew 4:10; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Philippians 2: 9-10)
3. No. Only a few will actually be with the Lord (Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23; Luke 13:23-30).
4. No, There are no people good enough to meet the righteous requirements of God; only a relationship with Christ justifies the believer. We cannot earn our way to God; this is why Christ came as our Savior. (Psalm 14:2-3; Jeremiah 17:9; Mark 10: 8; Romans 3:23)
5. No. Defiant sin, homosexual or otherwise, signals an unrepentant heart and a refusal to accept the truth of God (John 8:42-47; Romans 1:18-32; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10). Repentance and sincere, ongoing attempts to turn away from sin are hallmarks of true belief and the transforming power of Christ and the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9-11; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:17-24). Homosexuality, unlike current wishful thinking by some, is declared sin in both the Old and New Testaments (Genesis, chapter 19; Leviticus 18: 22 and 20: 13; Deuteronomy 23:17; 1 Kings 15:12; Matthew 19:3-9; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Thessalonians 4: 3-8; 2 Peter 2 (whole chapter); Jude 7-8; Revelation 22:15). The repentant homosexual, however, will be saved like any other sinner (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
6. Yes., if they repent and believe they must turn away from those sins. All humans are sinful. Christ came to save humans because of our sin. Repentance for our sins was emphasized by Jesus as necessary to salvation. (Matthew 4:17; Romans 5:8; 6:23; 2 Peter 3:9; Rev.1:5-6). There is joy in heaven over every sinner who repents (Luke 15:1-7 and 11-32). Those who believe and confess (tell others) about their faith in Christ are saved (Romans 10:9-10).
7. Yes. Wrath and eternity in hell is in store for those who have refused the free gift of salvation through Jesus and who have deliberately lived lives of rebellion. Christ will ultimately be our judge (Isaiah 9:6; Psalm 110; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 19:-20).
8. No. Christ never encouraged tolerance. He had no tolerance for lies, hypocrisy, false prophets, false faith, unkindness to the downtrodden, or refusal to hear the Gospel. His focus was on saving humans from their sins. Prophecy about Him emphasized His role as Savior (Matthew 1:21and 4:17; Rev.1:19-21). His main messages focused on repentance leading to salvation, how humans can help and love one another, hypocrisy of self-important religious leaders, and what the last days would be like.
9. No. These are politically-correct distortions that are actually contrary to biblical teaching. Scripture calls homosexuality an abomination (Leviticus 18:22), and the recently-invented malady of “homophobia” appears nowhere in Scripture. Patriarchy is not a sin in Scripture but a blessing of God’s created order. Males can sin in their authority over their families, in mistreatment and such, but just being a male in authority is not a sin in Scripture, but the opposite. And the earth and all non-human life were given to mankind by God for our use and responsible tending (Genesis 9:1-3). This differs from the underlying philosophy of most environmental policies, which assume that earth and non-human life have value apart from being a help to humans. Creation and its magnificent design spring from God’s “handiwork,” and point toward Him as our Creator, whom we are to joyfully worship (Psalm 19:1).We are never to worship creation itself.
10. Yes. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness...”(2 Timothy 3:16) See also Psalm 119; John 1:1 and 1:14; John 17:17; and Hebrews 4:12.
11. Yes, Christ has existed eternally. He is the One who was, and is, and is to come (Rev.1:8). See also John 1:1-2; John 8:57-58; Ephesians 1:3-4; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 13:8.
12. No. The world will deteriorate through human sin, culminating in the appearance of the Anti-Christ. Only Christ’s return will prevent total destruction ( Matthew 24:3-51; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 2 Thessalonians 2: 6-12; the whole book of Revelation, especially chapter 13). Some pagan/New Age philosophies believe that the world and certain chosen people are “evolving” into a progressive state. This is just a re-working of an age-old deception that prevents people from knowing Christ now.
13. No. A person must believe in Christ and be born again with the in-dwelt Holy Spirit to be a child of God and live with Him eternally. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name...” ( John 1: 12). See also John 3: 3-5 and 18-21; and Galatians 3:26.
14. No. Christ specifically prohibited mantras: “And when you pray, do not use vain repetition as the heathen do. For they think they will be heard by their many words” (Matthew 6:7). Then Christ gave the example of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:8-13), which is straightforward, rational, and does not employ altered states of consciousness.
15. Yes. Scripture describes a real spiritual realm populated by God’s holy angels as well as evil fallen angels called demons. Satan is their head. They seek to mislead humans and keep them forever separated from God (Genesis 3 ; Job 1: 6-12 and 2:1-7; Matthew 4:1-11; Matthew 12:43-45; Matthew 16:23; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8: 11-12; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; 1 Peter 5:8).
16. No. Spiritual evil can seem quite beautiful, but it leads directly away from our true God. We are told in Scripture to test the spirits, whether they are from God ( 1 John 4:1-3);. We must never practice sorcery, witchcraft, spiritism (attempting to contact the dead), or any kind of fortune-telling (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). Satan and demons can disguise themselves as “angels of light” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
17. No. Almighty God is always referred to in the masculine (e.g., Father) in Scripture. Jesus Christ, God who assumed human form, came as a man.
18. No. Christians should not participate in services honoring a false god, one whose representation on earth leads people directly away from Christ. Any Christian present in such services, unless able to speak out in some responsible way, gives credibility to the false faith and may prevent others from knowing the truth.
19. No. Reincarnation is completely incompatible with Christianity. Reincarnation assumes the same soul uses different bodies over and over, and Scripture teaches that each person is unique in body, soul and spirit. Each is responsible for deciding his or her eternal destiny once, before death, and that’s it! See Hebrews 9: 27-28: “And it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.”
20. Yes. God spoke the worlds into existence (Genesis 1). He created the world through Christ (Psalm 19:1; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16). We are to worship the Creator, not anything created, including humans (Romans 1:20-25).
Score: There’s no way to score this. Each assessment will be different. If there’s any doubt that you really know Christ, search your heart and search the Scriptures.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock....” (Revelation 3:20)
