Response
- In short, the answer to the first question is no, and our answer is well-justified below. Most religions are based upon man trying to reach God
or gods. But Christianity (when it is defined as the faith
of people who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal
Lord and Saviour) is the only one that explains that
God had a plan to save man from the beginning, as a loving,
all-knowing, all-powerful creator would, by sending his son
to man to pay the penalty for mankind's sins (if accepted by
man as man's Lord and Saviour).
To
understand the need for Jesus we compare the world to a high
school in which everyone had a failing grade. There was so
much fighting at the school that one student almost was
killed right before exams, and all the students were
suspended and missed final exams so no one could make it
into university based upon their merit (they would have all
failed even had they taken the final exams, but the key
point here is that there is no one final test of performance
for admission
into heaven).
The Dean of
the University was merciful, and although he realized no one
qualified for entrance based upon the admissions standards
he set out, he offered a scholarship - to pay the price for
admittance - to those who would accept it. That scholarship
into Peace University (heaven) is Jesus Christ, the son of
God, who was born of Mary in the flesh and was crucified to
pay the price for the sins of the entire world, and then
resurrected to sit at the right hand of God the father in
heaven.
Have you
accepted the scholarship to live forever? Will you now, to
have the peace of mind of knowing you will live forever when you
die, and have the numerous blessings of a relationship with God now?
To see how, click on Request
Share .
Since we
have just explained it in short, and in further detail in
the longer version below, you are in the group of people that
have heard this good news (the gospel).
God is
calling you now to confess that you have also missed the mark -
the standard of perfection set by God which we have all
missed - and accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and
Saviour, and start a personal relationship with God which
will provide you with direction for your life. Click on Request
Share to be led in the prayer of salvation (to be
accepted into the family of God and receive the gift of
eternal life).
We trust in God, who is perfect by
definition, to apply grace in a perfect manner to those who
never got the chance to accept or reject Jesus Christ, like
babies, young children, and those before and after Christ who
die not having ever heard the gospel. Different theologians
and followers of Christ have different views on this, and we
do not stand in the place of God to judge this matter which
is not a question that pertains to you because you have just
heard the gospel. More insight into this more difficult
question, but much less important for you who have heard, is
provided in the longer version below.
The full
version of the analogy which provides a more detailed answer
is below, which has scriptural references from the bible at
the bottom.
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FULL
VERSION:
Once upon a
time, there was a group of students in their last year at a high school,
which was in a
poor neighbourhood and had a bad reputation. Most other schools thought the only
thing the school had going for it was that it had a great
football team that could make it far. Some players had
scouts looking at them for potential football scholarships
to good colleges.
There was a boy
at that school named John that tried hard
to follow his teachers' instructions. Like all of the other
students, he had a failing grade, but he was a great student
in the sense that he loved to learn and was dedicated to
improving his performance. When he failed a test
he saw the teacher so that he could get extra help,
apologized for not doing
better and he went over every test he failed with the
teacher after school so that he would do better on future
tests and get into university. He wanted to study International
Development Studies and negotiate truces worldwide to help
create a more peaceful world.
The other
students failed tests and did not care. They went to play
football after school and made fun of him behind his back. A
large group of the stars on the football team beat him up on
his way home every time he stayed after school with the
teacher. They also pressured other students into helping them
bother him or beat him up. This was against school rules
obviously, and the students that got caught beating him up
got suspended. Some of them would come back to school and continue
to beat him up and just try not to do it on school property
so they would not get caught, hoping no teachers would know
who participated and who did not.
As a result
of hearing about this, the teachers wrote it into the school rules that the
students were responsible for their behaviour everywhere and
they distributed the rules to the students on the football
team that came to a meeting they held. The teachers told the
students that it was
in their best interest to get the rules to everyone and help
them to follow them so that the football program did not get
cancelled, and they would have a chance of getting into university.
Just before
final exams John spent a lot of extra time with the teacher and
this really bothered the big kids that usually beat him up.
The Friday before the week that final exams started, some instigators got all the students to
follow him home and beat him up
worse than ever before, meaning for him to be unable to
study for or write the exams so he would not have a chance of
getting into university. Those who did not
participate looked on and did not stop it. He hit his head on the
pavement in the fight and he was knocked unconscious. No
one knew who had delivered the blow that caused it. They
needed to call 911 and an ambulance rushed him to the
hospital with life-threatening head trauma and bleeding on
the brain.
The
teachers found out that John was in the hospital and the
whole football program got cancelled. All the students were
involved somehow at some point, so the whole graduating
class got suspended. Since it was right before
exams they all failed all of their final exams so they would
not qualify for admission into any post-secondary
institution - after all, the
teachers said that they had been warned and they had to set
an example so that never happened at their school again.
The teachers
got together and tried to get a brain surgeon to volunteer his
services, because John came from a poor family that
could not afford a brain surgeon. The best brain surgeon
around heard about the sad story. The great physician came to
the boy's aid right away, seeming to appear out
of nowhere to save him. He performed surgery on John's brain
and the operation was a complete success. The teachers and
John's family were overjoyed and thanked the physician for
saving John's life free of charge.
When John
had fully recovered, the best university in the area, named
Peace University, gave him a full scholarship
to study International Development Studies the next year.
Some of the other students applied to get entrance to the
school through a special application for students that had
extenuating circumstances that did not allow them to meet
the admission requirements.
The Dean knew about the whole story from reading about
it in the paper, talking to the teachers and reading several
different students' applications. The Dean decided to have an
individual interview with each applicant before deciding
whether to admit each applicant into the university or not.
No one from
John's high school had high enough grades to gain normal
entry into the school, but he wanted to admit as many students as
he could trust to accept the peaceful code of
conduct at Peace University.
The
questions he asked each applicant were as follows:
"Do you
think what was happening to John was wrong?"
(Everyone
that was being honest said that they knew it was wrong -
even those that were never disciplined or spoken to directly
by the
teachers, even those who never read that it was against
school rules to beat up students on or off school property, even
the leaders of the group that beat him up, even the students
that had done it before it was written down explicitly into
the school rules that students were responsible for their
actions off of school property - they all knew it was wrong within their
heart, or in other words, their conscience told them. Some that would have lied never applied and the Dean
could easily tell who applied and lied about whether they
knew it was wrong, and who lied about what they did).
"Did
you ever follow John home with the football team?"
"What
did you do?"
"Did
you ever get in trouble by the teachers for what took
place?"
"Did
you continue to follow John home with the team
afterwards?"
"If you
thought it was wrong, what did you decide to do about that?"
In the
interviews, some students tried to blame their actions on
other students. All the Dean said was, "Listen, I have a
separate interview with each applicant. Each applicant is
responsible for him or herself and is assessed individually
based upon him or herself - I will speak to all applicants
and about what each applicant did with that applicant and
only that applicant. This is YOUR interview. I want to know
about the decisions YOU made and what you were thinking. What decisions did you
make and what were you thinking?"
Some
applicants admitted responsibility for their improper
actions and apologized, were forgiven, and were accepted into
Peace university on a special scholarship offered by the
Dean due to his wonderful forgiving nature. Unfortunately,
some refused to admit they did anything wrong and did not
get accepted and never got anywhere in life. Some who accepted
the scholarship thanked the Dean and said, "Why could you not forgive
us all? I
thought you were so gracious and forgiving?"
He said,
"Some of the students knew it was wrong and continued to beat
John up and would have indefinitely. They were called to
stop many times and they refused repeatedly. How can I forgive those
who will not acknowledge their wrongdoing and ask for forgiveness? They were the ones who would
also continue to do the same thing here and bring violence
to Peace University. Do you think you can judge more fairly than me;
you who took part in hurting John? You who did not stop the others? You who know you are
fortunate that I
forgave you, paid your tuition for you, and to whom I gave
an opportunity to learn how to truly live peacefully?
"That same student with a great attitude, John, is here and
he is a great
ambassador of peace. How could I admit those students who would come in here and continue to beat him up? Do you not
realize how much I love John and all of you; all equally by
the way? Do you think I could admit them who would kill students in here? John almost died
already; they made him not finish high school. I am
ensuring that he and all the rest of you will be able to study
in peace here.
Here you can be even better than John was before...here you can achieve
the perfection he sought after. Do not worry about the others who would also
hurt him here had I let them in. I do not know who told them
our football team here is important, but it was not me. Peace
and love are what is important here, or there would be no
football team - just like there is no longer one at your old high school!"
Blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit is the never-ending refusal to
accept the call of God to repentance and Jesus refers to
this as unforgivable in the bible in Matthew 12:31;
offenders are the people symbolized by the students that did
not enter Peace University. Their choice to refuse to repent
of their wrongdoing is what dooms them to hell.
There are
many schools of thought and religions, and some of them contain
some of the truth, but also some error. The whole truth remains in the most widely
available book in the world - the Holy Bible (the school
rules in the above story are God's commands given to us in
the bible...which none of us are able to
follow perfectly). Would God not be the judge of each individual in
perfect fairness? Is it not hard enough for us to do the
right thing ourselves rather than to worry about how God
will fairly judge and forgive or not forgive everyone else?
The Dean is
willing to forgive you for all of your mistakes if you
request forgiveness and repent (become willing to turn away
from wrong behaviour). He paid the price for you to get into
Peace University. Do you accept His scholarship? The Dean
is God and the scholarship is God's son, Jesus Christ. Jesus
is also the great physician who saves lives and can make you
better if you invite him into your life. Peace
University is Heaven. Please see the Request Share link for more
information on accepting God's gift of eternal life. The
student named John represents all of God's followers who committed to
following God from the beginning of the world...but even
today's Christians at our best still fall short of God's
perfect standard and need to depend upon His mercy.
Where are
the principle references that helped us to answer the original question in the bible
(the Phree Shares Inc. business plan)?
Biblical
references:
Luke 12:
47-48
Romans 1:
18-20
John 3:16
John 14: 26.
Titus 2: 11
James 4:17
Matthew
12:31
The answers
to every possible question about salvation (accepting
the scholarship, which is symbolic of receiving eternal
life) are not provided here, but we have provided enough
information for it to be obvious that it is best
to accept Jesus Christ
and gain eternal life. In his perfect timing, God can answer
any other questions that you need answered.
If you are still
searching for understanding, we recommend that you start reading the new testament.
And you can ask God questions directly and wait patiently for him to
answer you. He is the wisest professor. If he cannot teach
you with words and you need to know, he will take you
through events that will teach you.
Remember that God loves
you enough to give you the freedom to choose, but he desires
so much for you to choose to accept his scholarship offer
now!
Why would anyone reject such a valuable opportunity offered
by the creator of the universe? It may be tempting to put such a
serious decision off because you do not want to accept the
changes you feel you will be prompted to make as a follower
of Jesus Christ (like giving up behaviour you recognize as un-Godly).
However, we encourage you not to play such
a dangerous game, as you do not know when your time could be
up, and it could come unexpectedly.
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The
consequences of not following the instructions...
Problem:
I got into an argument with my wife. She will not cook dinner for me like
she usually does because I put together the cabinet she bought wrong. I
thought I should be able to figure out how to put it together properly but
there was a piece I couldn't find near the end and it is still missing. She
took revenge by not sharing dinner with me.
Response
- Some
questions you could ask yourself to
arrive at a solution:
Did
you read the instructions and follow them? Most instructions start off by
telling you to verify that you have all of the pieces before you start. Do
you realize that some of us are over-confident and arrogant and think we can
figure out how to put things together without reading and following
instructions? Whereas some of us have learned to put things together
properly because we are not over-confident in our abilities and we appreciate the benefits of
reading and following the instructions? Arrogance causes many
problems in life for those who are arrogant and frustrates others that try
to help, lead or direct them.
Have you asked
your wife to forgive you for the mistake caused by not
reading the instructions? If you refused to read the instructions even though she
asked you to, did you tell her you learned the result of not listening to
her and apologized? There are benefits
to following the rules in life - and to listening to good advice from your husband or wife. Have
you considered making one of your guidelines that you must read and follow
instructions, since you do not know everything? This applies to life in many
ways - more rules are in the Phree Shares Inc. business plan (the bible). One of those
rules is one your wife needs to follow; that you should forgive one another.
Our
message to your wife is that patience is a virtue and forgiveness is divine. Taking
revenge can take away peace and leave people in pieces. This treatment will
hurt her as well in the process. Unwillingness to forgive
hurts the person unwilling to forgive because it can block
the forgiveness of God, which we all need desperately.
Married couples and even those dating should rise above this
childish game of revenge as it only leads to discord.
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Getting
lost driving...
Problem:
This may
sound like a silly problem, but I always get lost when I am driving
somewhere new. I have such a bad sense of direction I even forget
how I got into a subdivision or which way I turned into a plaza or
entrance. I'm often late as a result, or waste a lot of time getting
around.
Response
- Some
questions you could ask yourself to
arrive at a solution:
Why do you see that
as a silly problem? A lot of people struggle with directions and get
lost often. Have you considered planning your route with a map
anytime you are going somewhere new? Do you make it a point to
consciously focus on remembering where you went in and which way you
have to turn out (in the case of a subdivision)? Do you write out
your directions and remember which way you have to turn, a minimum
of two turns at a time (so you have to re-read the directions after
each turn while you are driving)? Do you make it a conscious point
to pay attention to where you are going, instead of concentrating on
something else like problems or a conversation inside the car or on
a cellular phone? Have you tried to learn cardinal directions
(north, south, east and west) and take them down as well as "turn right,
next left" so that you can have an additional way of figuring
out which way to turn whether you are coming or going? Finally, if
you still get lost, have you considered admitting this early and
stopping and asking someone for directions? Don't you think that most people will
be happy to help you? The earlier you do this the less time you will waste
trying unsuccessfully to find your way on your own. Just be
careful who you ask and where you ask them - obviously,
doing so must be safe.
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Are
you tempted to believe the Dream-killers?
Problem:
I am working so hard and I do not see my dream coming to true. Everyone
is telling me I should abandon it. I'm not making any money and I will never
make any money. They say I should do something more realistic and they all
have suggestions, but I was trying to do something I love.
Response
- Some
questions you could ask yourself to
arrive at a solution:
This
is very common in life. Please see the free idea posted on July 8th, 2003 -
it deals with this exact situation! The parents are proud when their son
graduated because he did exactly what they wanted him to do - he might as
well have gotten the diploma in their name instead of his own!
Have you considered how you will feel if you do what others want you to do?
How will you feel about yourself and them? Will you blame yourself for your
lack of confidence in yourself, lack of patience in pursuit of your dream
and blame them for their input or pressure? Are they dream-killers like many
of the over 6 billion adults on earth? Are they right? Is it really impossible,
improbable, unlikely, or just something new and unique that is
invaluable?...and like most
things new, unique or different, will it take plenty of sacrifice and
patience to see it to fruition?
Do
you have to do it at the same time as you do something else to make it
happen...in a sense doing something like others suggest you do, something
you can make money more easily doing, at the same time as
continuing to do what you want to do? See the links on the left, "Hire Yourself"
and "Start A Club" as examples. If you do something considered
"more realistic"
because you feel like you have to, does that mean you have to abandon your
dream, or just relegate it to different hours and work on it in a different
way? Why do you let failures worry you? Do you not realize that they are the
building blocks of great successes? If you have not seen examples of this in
your life, maybe your definition of success is incorrect. Have your
so-called failures not succeeded in teaching you something valuable? If they succeeded in
making you wiser, how were they failures at all? You can make those
lessons the building blocks of future successes. That is, if
you do not give up.
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Note:
The problems above were real problems that have been
modified in some cases for the reader's benefit.
