If You're Not Baptized Will You Go to Heaven? (according to Romans 10:9)

According to Romans 10:9 that says, "That 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." However, if that was the only reference to salvation then this would not be much of a 'stump question. The truth is theology/doctrine was never intended to be based on one stand-alone verse. The continual thread thru the Bible is God wanting a relationship with his creation (you). The reason God "wants" a relationship with us, is because mankind has been seperated from him. We don't naturally have a relationship with God. So something needs to take place. That something is actually a someone, -Jesus. The only way anyone comes to a relationship with God is thru is son Jesus.

Now that brings us to our stump question, 'if you are not baptized will you go to heaven? -according to Romans 10:9' well it appears you will. Of course according to Leviticus 19:27, i "can't cut the hair at the sides of my head or sides of my beard" That verse alone points out a command, but pinched out of context it becomes a stepping stone for a whole line of doctrine.

The right question to ask should be something like, "What must I do to be saved/go to Heaven?" Jesus was talking to his disciples in John 6:26-29, "Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.

Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?

Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

Jesus told his disciples don't work/seek out the food that spoils (representing passing pleasures of this world), but work/seek out 'food that endures to eternal life.' So the discples then ask the right question, 'What must we do to do the works God requires?" They are asking, what do we do to have eternal life? Jesus replies, 'believe...' 'believe in the one he [God] has sent (that's Jesus)'.

When you hear the gospel (story of Jesus) and understand that you are a sinner seperated from God (i.e. not going to heaven) and you want to go to heaven and be in a right relationship with God, you don't ask, "Do i have to do this to be saved?" you ask, "What must id do to do the works God requires?" What all can i do to be saved? Jesus says believe in me, and based upon that belief, you want to repent from living your life 'your way' you confess/tell others Jesus is the Lord over your ife and you are baptized for the forgiveness of your sins.

That's it. But, if you don't believe this whole claim Jesus makes about being the Savior and you just go thru the 'outside actions' because someone or some church says this is what you do to be saved, you aren't saved. Mark 16:16 says, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

So don't ask, "If i'm not" or "Do I have to?" Ask with anticipation and excitement, "What must I do to be saved?"

Did Thomas have a Twin (his name Dydimus = Twin)?

It is not known whether or not Thomas had a twin. However, he could have. In biblical times and hundreds of years since, names were given to people to describe a quality or trait that individual may have displayed. In-fact we do it today; Thomas was much like a nickname. His real name was Judas, Thomas may have been a surname given to him to describe the fact he had a twin. Some legends say he had a twin sister, Lydia.
Good question. I had to do a lot of looking for this one. One thing to remember from something like this is that it is easy to get caught up in side questions. If the Bible mentioned it, we should learn it. If the Bible didn't mention it, we should not concern ourselves with it.

Explain Psalm 34:14???

Psalm 34:14 how do you pursue peace? In v16 why is God against those who are evil, if we’re supposed to love one another as Christians? If this is a Psalm of encouragement, how could David have written it when he was pretending to be insane?

The first thing to remember is that 'peace' is not just the absence of conflict. It is a state or point in which stillness, rest, calm and tranquility are reached. God isn't saying, purse peace and protest war…war happens. There is a time and place for war. To pursue peace is to pursue a stillness with God.
In verse 16, is says, "the face of the LORD is against those who do evil" Beth picked Esther up from preschool. The children were on the playground. One boy went over to Esther, stuck his tongue out and said, "we don't like you." Beth stepped to that boy and said, "You don't talk to my daughter like that." Instinctively a parent comes to the defense of their children. God does the same thing. Most of the time 'evil doers' are doing evil to God's children…he simply is stepping in.
In regards to the insanity plea, have you ever been encouraged by a song or movie? If so then you have been encouraged by someone who may have been going thru a 'crazy' time or depressing time in their lives.

Did Judas Go to Heaven?

Matthew 27:3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself,…" According to the original language, it may appear that Judas repented. We have been trained to observe that when a person repents, they go to heaven. However, this is no the same kind of repentance "The word rendered repented himself, it has been observed, does not of necessity denote a change for the better, but any change of views and feelings. Here it evidently means no other change than that produced by the horrors of a guilty conscience, and by deep remorse, for crime at its unexpected results. It was not saving repentance; that leads to a holy life: this led to an increase of crime in his own death. True repentance leads the sinner to the Savior: this led away from the Savior to the gallows. Judas, if he had been a true penitent, would have come then to Jesus, confessed his crime at his feet, and sought for pardon there." (Barnes) No one knows the answer to anyone's salvation. However, scripture does record Judas not being repentant of his sin, but the consequence of his calloused, prideful heart. It's like when someone gets caught doing a crime, goes to jail and says, "I'm so sorry." Maybe, maybe not, what they are sorry for is the consequence.

What do you think about the website xxxchurch.com -the #1 Christian Porn Site? Are they just mocking Christians, or trying to help them?

There is a website called xxxchurch.com. It is a site designed to ‘catch’ surfers looking for porn. They want them to stumble across their site and then let the prayers of thousands snatch their hearts. I don’t quite understand all their outreach, but they are impacting a very dark area of our society with much success. They have free accountability software that tracks questionable sites you go to. I would recommend everyone have that on their computer.

I support them, but be careful…!!!

***IF YOU DO NOT STRUGGLE WITH THIS…THEN PLEASE DO NOT GO TO THEIR WEBSITE!!! ASK BRAD TO HELP YOU IF YOU ARE TEMPTED!!!

What should be a Christian's view on Cloning?

If someone was cloned, does that mean that not only God could create life? Wow what a good question. In my personal opinion, man is not creating life, he is altering/perverting it. Genesis 1:7 says, “the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,” Now when man can get to this point then we have a major ethical decision to make. Now that is something man will never do. So man may be able to duplicate/alter life, but he will never create life out of nothing. One thing that sets man apart from any other life form is the second part of that verse, “God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” Man was created and probably ‘liveable’, but God’s breath in him, gave him his distinct/true life.
Would the clone be alive and real? I suppose it would be, but it would not really real –just an organized body of cells. It would not have God’s Spirit in it and therefore, in my mind, not be human.
I found a particular website very helpful, http://www.gotquestions.org/cloning-Christian.html .
Also, look at the following verses to learn what God says about when life begins. Genesis 1:26-27 Psalm 139:13-16Isaiah 49:1-5

What did Jesus Look Like?

Revelation 1:13-17 says, “like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.” No one knows what Jesus Looked like. We can only assume he looked like an average Israelite living in Palestine around AD 0. However, we get a little preview of what he will look like upon his return…
…Complete Power and Complete Compassion.

Did Adam and Eve Go to Heaven

I don’t know, but I’m not stumped. Let me explain. There has been occasion that I have stepped in on a situation that was getting out of hand. The one in particular was at a church I served at in Cedar Rapids, IA. We were at one of the sponsor’s homes for a party. Most of the teens were downstairs playing pool. I went down and just as I entered the room, I saw a fight begin. Nathan and Aaron were going at it. Aaron had no problem handling the much scrawnier Nathan. So what did I do, I threw Aaron down, grabbed Nathan and carried him to another room. Now, without being an eye witness, I knew what went down. Nathan, being quite the instigator, probably pushed Aaron’s buttons so much he wanted to save face by kicking this little twerp’s butt in front of his friends. The way I made my presence and disappointment known was to defend Nathan. Did he instigate? Probably. Did he deserve to get his? Maybe. However, because he was the smaller and younger participant, I felt I had to defend him. Take a look at Genesis 3:15 (keep in mind this is after the fall/their sin) –God says to the serpent “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” God jumps in and defends, protects his most precious creation. Does he discipline Adam and Eve, sure, but only because sin cannot be in the same place a Holy God is. Did Adam and Eve go to Heaven? Probably, but (insert my way out here) only God knows. Hehehehehe!!!

How long did they live?
Genesis 5:5 says, “So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.”

If we've been forgiven, why do we still have to face the consequences?

“as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12. Scripture doesn’t say that God removes our consequences or the result of our sin, but rather the sin itself. One way to look at this is to take the sin of ‘sex before marriage.’ That is a sin, however, becoming pregnant is a result or consequence of that sin. So if one wants the consequences removed then they need to consider this route. How do you remove the consequence of life? Two ways abortion or adoption. God removes sin not consequences because having sin in our lives is more dangerous than dealing with the consequences –no matter how severe they may be. For example, If someone commits murder they are guilty of murder. It is a sin. They will be judged by God according to how they respond to Him. Now which would be worse: a.) going to prison for life for murder or b.) going to Hell for murder?
You see God sees the big picture. He sees what awaits us on the others side. His concern is that our slates are wiped clean and be qualified for Heaven, rather than not have to go through a specific consequence for a decision you made. Revelation 3:19 says, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline….’” Discipline isn’t a heartless act of authority; it is the evidence of God’s love.

What is the Difference Between Stupidity and Courage?

A person making a reality video about swimming in a pool of piranhas with raw meat tied to your shorts is stupid. Diving in a pool to save a struggling child is courageous. The difference between stupidity and courage is the motive. If your motive is to either help, or do the right thing (i.e. enlisting in the service after 9.11) then it is courage. Also, it may seem stupid for someone to try and smuggle Bibles into a country that outlaws Christianity and the Scriptures, however, if it is to spread the Good News, then it is courageous. It all comes down to motive and purpose for which you act. A selfish motive, “Hey look at me jump off of this roof!” is stupid, “Hey we need to help that family whose car slid off the slick road.” is courage.

How do you believe in a God you can't see?

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Cor. 4:18. Aren’t you glad God can’t be seen ? In Moses’ day, the way you honored whatever god you followed, was by making statues or carvings of them and then bowing down and worshiping what you had made. That is a God you can comprehend. However, words, statues and even tributes are unable to describe our God because he is bigger than our words, tribute, imaginations and brains. A God you can see is one that constrains himself to space and time. However, an unseen God is one who is not restricted to one place or another. He is everywhere at once.
“so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matt. 6:18 God is unseen so that he can see the heart and unseen struggles and joys of his children.