What if you become a Christian? In America, as Christians become a shrinking segment of the population and our views become despised by the mainstream culture, it is likely that you will be mocked and demeaned, even if you are not physically harmed.
Without faith, baptism accomplishes nothing. It is not a merely ritualistic act, effective regardless of what is going on in the recipient’s heart. Rather, its efficacy depends on “faith in the powerful working of God” (Colossians 2:12).
God is one, but His unity is a tri-unity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. While this challenges our best efforts to understand, it is clearly what the Scriptures reveal about God. We are not free to dispense either with the unity or complexity of God.
Given the tragic consequences of mankind’s sin, there is no more precious promise in the Scriptures than the promise of what heaven will be like for those who have been redeemed and reconciled to God: “They will see his face” (Revelation 22:4).
Paul spoke of the “end” when Christ “delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”
Until we “put on our heavenly dwelling,” however, we press toward the goal (Philippians 3:14). God helped Israel through the wilderness, and He will help us also. If the journey is hard, that will just make our home all the sweeter when we get there.
