Does God exist? Can He be proven to exist? If God does exist, from where did He come? How can I know Him and what is He like? Why should I care if God exists? Such questions and many more have been asked about God for thousands of years.

The late Christian pastor, author, and theologian, A. W. Tozer, once said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” This quote ultimately points to what Jesus said as recorded in Mark 12:30-31 – “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” See also Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37; Luke 10:27.

At Pacific Heights Baptist Church we strongly believe that the starting point for all things and every question a person has in life is to know and love God. Almost every person has questions about God. To begin exploring answers to your questions about God, please click the buttons below: The Truth about God and Knowing God Personally and The attributes of God

What is the Gospel? The Bible defines the Gospel as “good news,” and it is the central message of Christianity. It is the proclamation of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, offering salvation to all who believe in Him.

Why do I need this good news? Is there bad news? The bad news is we are all sinners. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 3:23 – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Every person, regardless of background or status, is affected by sin. And because of sin, every person’s relationship with God has been severed. Sin eternally separates us from God, necessitating a means of reconciliation.

God's glory is the standard of holiness and righteousness to be met for being reconciled and restored in a relationship with Him. Humanity is incapable of meeting this standard through any means – merit or works-based systems, the golden rule, etc. The divide between God and humanity is infinite and cannot be bridged by any human effort. Only a divine Redeemer – Jesus Christ – can bridge the gap between God and humanity.

Every person needs the good news because it is only through belief in Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection that a person can be reconciled to God (Acts 4:12). For a person to receive this saving work of Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 10:9-10, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

The simplicity of the Gospel is profound - You must place your trust in Jesus Christ alone and God will give you eternal life as the gift!

To explore the Gospel at deeper levels, please click the buttons below: The Gospel of Jesus Christ and The Gospel

Aren’t there many paths to heaven?

In recent decades, the belief that many paths lead to God and heaven has become increasingly popular. This is known as “Religious Pluralism,” which can defined as the view that all religious worldviews are equally valid and acceptable, because in the end they all lead to the same place, heaven. Religious pluralism thus allows a person the freedom to select which religion of the world best suits their need and they find to be most agreeable, because no one belief system can claim exclusivity as the only path to God and heaven.

Christianity stands in opposition to religious pluralism because it centers on the exclusivity of Jesus Christ as the only way to God and heaven. Jesus taught this in John 14:6 – “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus also taught this in Matthew 7:13 – “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.” The narrow gate can also be seen as a “type” of Christ, who declared Himself to be the "door" (see John 10:9) through which one must enter to find salvation. The wide and easy gate is characterized by moral carelessness and conformity to worldly values, contrasting with the narrow path of being a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

The stakes involved in the debate of the exclusivity of Christianity and Jesus Christ versus religious pluralism could not be any higher as its outcome determines where a person will spend eternity! There is only one path to God and heaven – Jesus Christ. To learn more on this, please click the buttons below: Christianity & religious pluralism and Is Jesus the only way to heaven?

“What is truth?” This was the questioned asked by Pilate to Jesus in John 18:38. Arguably, there has never been a more important question ever asked, because the answer ultimately determines the essence of what is real, what is not, and the decisions a person makes for how they live their life.

So, does truth exist? Is there absolute truth? And, if so, where can it be found? These questions have been asked, pondered, and debated for thousands of years by the greatest philosophical minds.

The broad movement known as Postmodernism ushered in the belief during the 1960s that absolute truth does not exist; that truth is relative. This is also known as relativism. Some things may appear true to you but not true to me. If you believe it, then it is true for you. If I don’t believe it, it is not true for me. Relativism is a prevailing belief today - absolute truth doesn’t exist, only relative truth exists and is a simple matter of each person’s perspective. This is the basic argument of Postmodernism’s belief in relative truth and its rejection of absolute truth.

In John 18:37, the verse just before Pilate’s question to Jesus noted above, Jesus made this statement “… For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth.”

The existence of absolute truth is a necessary foundational component of Christianity, and the word “truth” is mentioned 141 times in the Bible (ESV translation). God wants every person to know that absolute truth exists, and it is found in Him; He is truth. The apostle John wrote much on Jesus Christ is truth. In John’s Gospel and 3 epistles (1, 2, 3 John), he mentions “truth” 46 times, or one-third of the entire mentioning of “truth” in the Bible. John wants us to know the truth of Jesus!

Absolute truth exists. It is God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and His Word, the Bible. Forces opposed to God will always try to distort or replace truth with non-truth, but that doesn’t change truth for it is absolute. Truth is the way things really are. God is truth.

Most people are earnestly seeking truth, yet many are looking in the wrong place. We thank and praise our almighty God for revealing His truth to us!

To explore these issues further, please click the buttons below: What is truth? and Flaws of moral relativism

Mention the Bible and the views are quite varied on this book. Some people view the Bible as a nice collection of random bedtime stories or a book that simply contains a long list of Do’s & Don’ts. Others view the Bible as an ancient writing that may have been important in its day but it has little relevance in a 21st century world. Still, some think parts of the Bible contain some truths or helpful advice but many parts have errors or that the Bible simply is too confusing and hard to understand. Such views usually result from a person holding preconceived assumptions of the Bible as they begin to read it. The Bible is unlike any book ever written and it must be approached, read, and studied unlike any other book.

So, what is the Bible? It is God speaking directly to humanity. While more than forty humans recorded the Bible, God’s Holy Spirit superintended this effort. This means that every word of the Bible is supernatural in its origin and is straight from the throne of God as stated in 2 Timothy 3:16 – “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” Because God is perfect, His Word, the Bible, is perfect.

The Bible also attests to being more than mere words on paper in Hebrews 4:12 – “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

The Bible is the account of God’s actions in the world, and His purpose with all creation. The Bible’s metanarrative, that is, the overarching big-picture is: Creation – Fall – Redemption – Restoration. It’s the thread that ties the entire Bible together, all sixty-six books, and it reveals God’s unfolding plan for the world and all creation. Once this big picture is seen, the stories in Scripture come alive, transforming how you read and experience God’s Word.

To explore the Bible further, please click on the button below: Summary and history of the Bible

Click on the second button to access an online Bible

Prayer is foundational to the Christian life as it allows believers to communicate directly with God, as we seek His guidance and deepen our relationship with Him. Yet, most Christians will admit they only pray infrequently (weekly or monthly) and that their prayers are short, often times less than one-minute long. Further, many Christians turn to prayer only in a time of crisis rather than turning to prayer regularly to grow their faith and their relationship with God.

Some people may hesitate to pray because they feel they don’t know what to say. An eloquent sounding prayer using lofty words is not a requirement for prayer. What makes for effective prayer is to come before God in humility, acknowledging that He is sovereign, holy, and all-wise and because of this, giving Him praise that only He is worthy of.

When praying to God, pray from the heart. For when we pray from the heart, we are inviting God to penetrate the depths of our souls, for needed healing, restoration, and renewal. A heartfelt prayer goes beyond words and reaches the very essence of who we are. Such prayer is a plea to have our hearts transformed and aligned with God's will. And when we go before God in prayer, it should be done in faith, believing that God will hear and respond to our prayers.

To explore prayer further, please click on the buttons: Prayer life of a Christian and How to Pray and A Call to Prayer (eBook)

Many people, including Christians, do not really know or understand who the Holy Spirit is. Some refer to the Holy Spirit as an “It,” while others view the Holy Spirit as some vague, mysterious force. Others are just unsure of anything or how to think about the Holy Spirit. Further, according to a recent study by the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, more than half of self-identified Christians in America say the Holy Spirit is not a real, living being. Regarding the Holy Spirit, many misconceptions and misunderstandings abound.

God intends for no confusion regarding the Holy Spirit. The Bible assigns personhood to the Holy Spirit. He is one of the three persons of the triune Godhead and He has existed eternally. The Holy Spirit is identical in divine essence, co-equal in power and glory, and possesses the same attributes and perfections as the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ.

When a person is saved through faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, the Holy Spirit takes up residency within the new believer. Think about that – God is actually dwelling inside believers! The ministry of the Holy Spirit is made up of several very important aspects. To learn more about the Holy Spirit, please click on the buttons: Who is the Holy Spirit? and The ministry of the Spirit