An Interview with Lauren McCain
February 22, 2007
Virginia Tech campus

Q: How can I be sure that I’m going to Heaven?

A: In the Bible, it says in Joel 2:32, but whoever calls on the name of the Lord, will be saved. It’s kind of like a promise that He gives us, and when Christ was on the cross, and the sinner was beside him, the guy that being crucified with Him, and he was confessing that ah, you are Lord, you know, I believe. And Christ said, “Today, you’ll be in Paradise with me.” So, as soon as you accept Christ. Christ is like, this is what it is.

Q: There are three types of commitments when it comes to Christ. There’s Intellectual commitment, there’s emotional commitment, there is a commitment of our will. So how does all of that play into coming to Christ? Can you outline those three things?

A: Well, I think for the intellectual, it’s just knowing that Christ is God. That Jesus was the Son of God sent to the earth to save us, that He was free from sin, and that He chose to die on a tree for us. For the emotional. That’s a little bit harder, because emotions are more of a barometer of what you’re going through, and they can be affected by, if you’re sick, or if you’ve had a bad day, or if you’re chemicals are imbalanced, but God promises us joy and peace and that’s something that He give us that’s supernatural. It’s not something that’s from within, so much as something that He gives to us through His Holy Spirit, and through His promises. That we can have peace that what He says is true, and that we have joy that we’re going to live in Heaven, and that we’re going to walk with Him on earth, and then for the will, I think you choose to believe in God, so you’re making a conscious decision. You’re choosing to follow Him, but it does say that it’s not to him who wills, or who runs, but to God who has mercy. So it’s not so much how our effort, or our desire, but it’s God who is merciful and good, and gives to us.

Q: Who does God confirm that you will go to Heaven? What are some ways that He confirms that?

A: Well, His Holy Spirit testifies to it, and His Holy Spirit lives within us, which can be a little hard sometimes. It says through scripture that we will be in Paradise with Him that we’ll be with Him, and even now as He’s sitting at the right hand of God, our lives are with Him. So, I guess in a sense, technically we’re there. Other than the Word, we do have a hope that He gives us. It says that the hope of our faith that’s within us. They say that people ask you where does this hope come from, and it comes from Christ, from the Holy Spirit, from this knowing that we know, that we know, that He’s there, and that we will be with Him in Heaven. So, in scripture, and from the Holy Spirit, and then just from God’s revelation, I think.

Q: Should our attitudes and actions demonstrate that Jesus now lives in us?

A: Yes, it says that faith without works is dead, so we can believe, but it doesn’t mean anything unless our lives are affected by it. That the God of the Universe is living inside of us. I think that there would be a difference. Then when Paul is talking to Timothy, he’s like, faith is good, and you need faith, but faith, if it doesn’t have anything to back it up, it doesn’t mean anything, it’s not true. So there should be a difference, and a lot of times it’s not us choosing to be different, it’s the Holy Spirit working through us because we are new creations in Christ.

Q: How is faith involved in our salvation?

A: Faith is the evidence of things unseen. Since we don’t see God, and we don’t…salvation is not something tangible, it’s, I guess it’s an existence. The faith that what God says is true. That He is a true God. That what He’s given us, is truth. I guess faith is the essence of salvation. It says that we believe in our hearts, and that we confess with our mouth, and then we are saved, right then. So it comes from believing in your hearts.

Q: Who is the Holy Spirit?

A: The Holy Spirit is the spiritual part of God. He is the third entity of the triune God. He’s the one who comes to live inside of us. Christ said before He left that I’m going to leave you, but I’m going to send a Comforter to you, and that’s going to be in the form of the Holy Spirit. So, He’s the part of God that comes to live inside us that transforms our lives.

Q: What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?

A: I guess being filled with the Holy Spirit would mean that He’s going to be working through you in everything. That He is indwelling you, and so every action that you have would be a reaction from what He’s doing inside. When the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit, because when He first came down, they spoke in tongues, and they went out and prophesied it, or they testified to Christ, and they said, “To the Jews that were there, and actually a lot of people from different nations, that Jesus Christ who you guys crucified, He is the Lord. So the Holy Spirit, when He fills you, it’s not so much that He’s taking complete control, but He is directing you. Most people that are filled with the Holy Spirit, I think, today they say that it comes with abounding joy, and just this knowledge that God is working through to some greater purpose, I guess outside of your desire.

Q: Can you give an example of maybe of how you have sensed the Holy Spirit working in your life.

A: One time, I went to camp with my church, and it was a really hard week. I guess, I don’t now if it was emotionally bad, or if I didn’t have the right nutrition, I don’t know, or the spiritual atmosphere, but I was really, really depressed, and we were like singing songs, we were praising God, but I was, I don’t know, I was very depleted, perhaps, and I was just crying out to God. I was like, Oh man, you’ve got to give me something. I know you live, and I know you live in me, but right now, I feel very dead. And as I was singing, it was so awesome, it was….I asked to see His face, you know, ‘because God says, “Whoever sees my face, He’s going to die.” In a way we die to self, but as human beings, we’re not going to see His face until we’re in Heaven. But I was like, Oh man, just let me die then, let me see your face. And He showed me, like, I could see Him, and I could reach out, and I touched His jaw. I know this is really weird, but this is what He did to me, and I could see His face, and I was completely overwhelmed with joy that my God, the Lord of the Universe came down, and He showed me Him. He showed me what I could see with these eyes. It was really cool. And there was this complete peace even though I didn’t know what was going on that week, and even though it was still really stressful, and it was still kind of scary, it was like, He was with me, and the Holy Spirit was working through me for whatever purpose for His Glory.

Q: What does it mean to confess our sins to God?

A: To confess our sins? I think would mean to tell him what we’ve done wrong, ‘cause He already knows, and He’s already died for them, so they’re already forgiven, but when we confess them, we say, “God, this is what I’ve done, and this is wrong in your eyes, and it has hurt you, and I ask forgiveness for that, and in a way, it more restores the relationship, because when He died, our sins were erased, but we have to accept that. So confessing would just be saying, “alright, this is what I’ve done wrong, this is where I’ve errored, this is where I’ve caused you pain.