Tommy Mann

Q. How do people receive the Holy Spirit? A. Believers receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation .   When Jesus prepared His disciples for His departure, He let them know they would not be alone; “ the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you (John 14:26).” The Holy Spirit did not indwell believers until after Jesus went back up to heaven. The Holy Spirit first came to live inside believers during a Jewish holiday called Pentecost, which was the anniversary of God giving Moses the law. At that moment, described in Acts 2, believers everywhere were simultaneously filled with God’s Holy Spirit. From that time on, as soon as a person trusts in Christ for their salvation, they also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 1:13 says, “ In Him (Jesus) you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised

Q. Do all religions lead to heaven? A. No; Jesus said He is the way, the truth, and life, and no one gets to the Father except through Him .   Some well-meaning people like to say that all religions eventually lead to heaven. “You have your religion, and I have mine; we’ll all make it in the end.” This sounds nice to people who are tired of religious bickering, but there is no way that can be a true statement. If two people are looking at a map, and one concludes a left turn is needed, and the other thinks they must turn right, they cannot both be correct at the same time. One has to be right, and the other has to be wrong. If two gods both claim to be the exclusive way to heaven, how can they both be right? Jesus said He is the way, the truth, and life, and no one gets to the Father any other way (John 14:6). That is either true or false. Christians believe Jesus is the only way to the Father, but Jews reject the Messianic claims of Jesus as they wait for the

No.

Q. Which is the greatest commandment? A. The greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind; the second greatest is to love your neighbor as yourself .   Jesus was once asked what the greatest of the commandments was. Although that question was intended to trap Jesus, He still gave a magnificent answer. He could have easily said the greatest command was not to lie, steal, or murder, but if He responded with any single command, His enemies would accuse Him of not caring about the other commands. Jesus’ answer silenced the crowd. He responded, “Y ou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:37-40).” The first part of the answer is very straightforward—love God with all that you are and all that you have. The

Proud to not exist. 

Q. What is the fruit of the Spirit? A. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).   The fruit of the Spirit is contrasted with the works of the flesh. In Galatians 5:19-21 Paul says, “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” The unsaved person naturally produces any or all of these works of the flesh. Instead of living like the lost, we should live a life characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. But those characteristics do not come naturally.