Our Hope
Our Retro Barbershop's Hope
WHY IS THERE SOMETHING?
Have you ever asked yourself: Why is there something, rather than nothing?
The Bible asserts that the universe is a testimony to God’s existence and precision:
"The heavens proclaims the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.” Psalm 19:1
"For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God." Romans 1:20
These above passages are a few among the countless reminders that God's creative work can be observed in Nature. He created things to function in an orderly fashion and He continues to keep things in order. Nature is one of the ways in which God has revealed Himself to humanity.
Can we find evidence of God's existence from looking at the world in which we live in? Yes, surely we can. Here are a few examples among infinite examples around us:
Every building has proof of a builder. Every painting has proof a painter. We know there has to be a builder because the building couldn’t have built by itself. Same for the painting, it has to be a painter because the painting couldn’t paint by itself. The builder and painter could have died hundreds years ago, but we undeniably know there was a builder and a painter who made these things.
Creation is evidence of a creator: Flowers, trees, sun, moon, stars, seasons, sensory system, human body….etc. These things are highly ordered, complex and advanced in nature, and cannot be explained without the existence of an intelligent designer. Things without intelligence act for the sake of ends: Indeed, things without intelligence cannot work for the sake of an end UNLESS a higher intelligence is directing them; e.g. honey bees work to produce honey even though they do not have intelligence properly speaking, birds make their nests without being taught and so on…
This concludes there must be a Supreme Mind or an Intelligent Designer behind all creation.
On my quest for the Truth, I came down to the conclusion that Christianity is the Truth. What truth, would you ask? In my personal opinion, the truth is basically answering these questions: “Why are we here on this Earth?” “Who made us, human beings?” “What is His purpose in making us?” “Who is the Supreme Mind behind all creation?”
In other words: "Who is God?
In my reasoning, God must be unaffected by space, time and matter. If He was - affected, He wouldn’t be God. Therefore, He must out of the time dimension, out of the space dimension and out of the matter dimension.
The God who created this universe is outside of the universe, that’s why He is unaffected by it.
If your next question is “Where does God come from?” or “Who created God” it implies a limited god because he would need to be created to exist. The God that I worship is an unlimited God. He has always existed due to His divine or supernatural nature, and DOES NOT NEED to be created to exist. He has always been in existence.
The God that I worship is the God of the Bible of Christianity.
Exodus 3:14: “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”
FREE WILL
The God of the whole universe is VERY good to us. He gives us this life to figure out if we want to be with Him or not, until our last breath. He is a Good Father because He gives us the FREE WILL to make our own decision - to be with Him or want nothing to do with Him. He will respect our decision.
HOWEVER, BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL OF WHAT YOU DECIDE IN YOUR OWN FREE WILL:
If you decide to have nothing to do with God, then yes, you will get what you wish for; there is THAT PLACE that has nothing to do with Him and that place is called: Hell
Why?
It is the place where He withdraws His attributes, meaning the ABSENCE of His attributes.
Hell is dark because God is light: 1 John 1:5 “This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all”
There is only death in hell because God is life: 1 John 5:12 "Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life”
There is only hatred in hell because 1 John 4:16 says God is love: “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”
There is no mercy in hell because Psalms 36:5 says “the mercy of the Lord is in heavens”.
There is no water in hell because Deuteronomy 11:11 says water is the “rain of heaven”.
There is no peace in hell because Isaiah 9:6 says that He is “The Prince of Peace”.
So, you see, if God removes Himself from the situation, ALL the goodness goes away with Him. In other words, you cannot have the good without God. You cannot separate the two.
So if in your personal life, you say that you don’t want to do anything with God…..
That is your freedom to choose, there is a place prepared which has nothing to do with Him.
HOW TO BE SAVED FROM ETERNAL HELL?
Many people ask “what is ‘saved’?”, also many believers want to know: “Can I be assured of my salvation?”. The answer is: “yes, you can!”
What is “salvation”?
Salvation is not a formula; it is not being baptized, although we should be baptized – baptism is not to be saved but to show that we ARE saved; it is not just mentally conceding that Jesus is God; it is not just because you attend church regularly while our heart is not there with Him; it is not just confessing a prayer like a parrot; and it is not our own good works.
Salvation is believing what Jesus did on the cross; gave His life in our place; and rose from the dead; it is a relationship with your Creator; it is inviting Jesus to come into your heart; it is a commitment to follow Jesus; it is a total change and a turning away from sin; it is a new Father and family that we are born into.
Salvation encompasses three things: 1) What we must believe, 2) What we must do, 3) What we must say to be saved.
1) What we must believe
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 states “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures”, also Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
In other words, our own good works cannot save us; we must trust in His shed blood as payment for our sins.
2) What we must do
In Luke 13:3 Jesus said “Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish”. Also, Acts 3:19 “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”
3) What we must say
Romans 10:9-10 says “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” 1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Romans 10:13 also says “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved”.
These are the three things required for salvation.
Assurance of salvation: Now, the following verses assure us of our salvation.
1 John 2:25 “And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.” John 11:26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 6:40 “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
One way to heaven:
In John 14:6, Jesus answered, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. There is no options on the route to eternal life - there is only one way, and Jesus is that way.
So, God proved His love for us by dying in our place as stated in Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Once we are born again, good works will follow, meaning the good works (or FRUITS) of the Holy Spirit – not our own good work, which are the evidence that we are changed.
Salvation is not a statement of facts to be believed, BUT a person to be obeyed thru His Word, the Bible. It is not our sins that send us to hell, BUT it is our rejection of the provision for our sins, Jesus Christ.
