Is it ever right to deny your faith? (ie. underground witnessing, Columbine Shooting in which the girl got killed for revealing that she was a Christian)
Are there people who do not get a chance to hear God's Word before they die?

I appreciate your question and I want you to know that it challenged me. I, like most other people was very saddened by the incident in Colorado and feel that it was a great tragedy. However, I can quickly answer your question in the negative. No, it is never RIGHT to deny your faith. We read countless examples, definitions, and characteristics of faith in the Bible. Never do you find a command or example of someone denying their faith and that being the right thing to do. In fact, in the book of Revelation, chapter 2, verse 13, the church at Pergamum was commended for NOT denying the faith. In Jude 3, the Christians were encouraged to "contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints" NIV.   Eph. 2:8 tells us that faith has a great deal to do with our salvation. In II Tim. 4:7, Paul takes great pride in the fact that he has "kept the faith". In II Tim. 2:22, we are told to "pursue faith". In James 1:3, we're told that "the testing of your faith develops perseverance..", and in Hebrews 11:6, we are told that "without faith, it is impossible to please God."

    We see from these and other passages in the Bible that faith is a precious commodity and should be kept, contended for, and "not denied". Faith is NOT to be denied, according to the scriptures. However, we are not to lie either and we often do. So does that mean that denying the faith is We see from these and other passages in the Bible that faith is a precious commodity and should be kept, contended for, and "not denied". Faith is NOT to be denied, according to the scriptures. However, we are not to lie either and we often do. So does that mean that denying the faith is unforgivable? Certainly not. EVERY sin is forgivable, if confessed and repented of. We certainly don't want to place more emphasis on any particular sin because the Bible doesn't do that. Is this a passport to
deny the faith? I'll refer you to Rom. 6:15 for the answer to THAT question.

    In response to your second question, William, YES, there are people who will die without ever hearing God's word. Despite the Great Commission, given in Matt. 28: 19, 20 and Mark 16: 15, 16, there are people today who have never heard the word of God. However, we DO know that at one time, every creature on the world had heard the word of God. I will refer you to
some passages that speak to this question: Rom. 1:8, Col. 1:6, Acts 17:30, Acts 2:5, and Col. 1:23. It is our job as Christians to spread the word of God to all nations. As mentioned earlier, this has been done in the past and if we want it to be the case today, we'd better get back to work.

How do people attain a strong faith?

 Thank you for submitting your question: "how does one attain a strong faith?" The strength of one's faith grows proportionally to the time she spends with the word of God. Romans 10:17 says, "so then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." As knowledge of God and His will grows so does faith. The only way our knowledge about God can grow is by
spending time studying what he has revealed about himself. If you want faith, get to know God. If you want to get to know God, study and obey His will. "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God."

I hope this short answer is helpful to you in understanding the key to a strong faith.

Concerning the confessing of ones faith. There are different ones used. 

For example;Jesus is Lord, Jesus is the Lord, Jesus Christ is the son of God, Jesus is the Christ the son of the living God, Jesus is my lord and Saviour. 

Are these appropriate and which are why/why not?

The words confess and confession are used several times in the New Testament. When used of the confession of one's faith it means that one acknowledges his belief that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus commands this of those who would profess to be His followers, Matthew 10:32-33; Luke 12:8-9. There are some mentioned who are condemned because they would not do this for fear of persecution, John 9:22; 12:42.

Toward the end of the first century a false doctrine began to develop which denied that God could exist in human flesh and that Jesus was really a created being, like an angel. To combat this error John wrote that to confess that Jesus is the Son of God, that He is Christ in the flesh, is to have God dwelling in him and know that someone who would acknowledge that is not a false teacher. See 1 John 4:2, 3, 15 and 2 John 7. Ultimately everyone will acknowledge that Jesus is God's Son, Philippians 2:11. For some, though, that will be too late because it will occur at the end of the world after their fate is sealed. In Romans 10:9-10 the Bible says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." 

What is the confession that leads to salvation? Acts 8:37 provides the best answer in the words of the Ethiopian eunech when he was told that in order to be baptized he must first believe, he answered, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." This is the public acknowledgement Jesus demands. This indicates that one believes the true doctrine that Jesus is the Christ, that He is the Son of God come in the flesh. It is the confession of one's faith. There is no other confession one needs to or should make.

What is faith and how does it apply to religion?

 

The dictionary defines faith as a) "confidence in or dependence on a person, statement, or thing as trustworthy; b) belief without need of certain proof; and c) belief in God or in the Scriptures or other religious writings. The Bible, in Hebrews 11:1, tells us how faith applies to religion. That verse says "faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen." Essentially this means that "faith is everything the Christian hopes for and the reasons he believes in things he has not seen."

Faith is very important to the Christian. The Bible teaches us that faith is one of the things that saves us.  Faith means that the Christian believes and trusts in God even though he has not seen God.  Faith, however, is not baseless. Solid faith is built on evidence, such as nature, science, the scriptures, history, and witnesses.   All these things can support a Christians faith.

 God does not expect Christians to have blind faith. He expects them to carefully weigh the evidence and determine to have confidence in Him and dependence on Him that He is trustworthy.

  Are we saved by faith or by works?

 For centuries the debate has raged over whether the Christian is saved by faith or works.  The error in this question is the assumption that faith and works are mutually exclusive. They are not.  The apostle Paul tells us that because Abraham believed God justified him. The apostle James tells us that Abraham was justified when he acted on his belief. Works are merely an outgrowth of our faith.  James challenges his readers to show him faith without works.  James then goes on to say that he will demonstrate his faith by his works. (James 2:18) James says faith without works is dead. (James 2:26) A faith that does not work is a dead faith and good for nothing.  Even the devils believe in God.

 Our faith does save us, but our faith must be living, active, and working.

I would like to know more on what it means to "surrender" to the the Lord, and just how does a person do just that?

Thank you for submitting your question: "what does it mean to surrender to the Lord and how does a person do that?" That certainly is a good question and one to which every Christian should know the answer.

Interestingly, the phrase "surrender to the Lord" is never found in the Bible, but the ideas contained in that phrase certainly are.

The word "surrender" is essentially a military term which means "to yield possession of or power over to another." This in effect is exactly what we do when we become Christians. We give possession of ourselves to Christ (I Corinthians 6:19,20), and we bow ourselves in obedience to his authority. A person does this by simply obeying the Lord's commands. When we "give up" or "surrender" ourselves to the Lord, we put his will before our own. This "surrender" causes us to do things we might not want to do.  It also causes us to stop doing things that we might enjoy very much.

Surrendering yourself to the Lord simply means that you give control over your life to Him and live in obedience to Him even though often you would rather not.

Thanks for your good question. All Christians need to remember that we must "surrender" ourselves to Christ in obedience.

I have not  believed in Christ since my cousin moved away. I feel like it is just something made up so people will do the right thing and hope to go to heaven. There is no proof that he was here except the bible which I think is just a story. What came first, the dinosaurs or Adam and eve which were thought to be here after the few days earth was made.  Also there is no heaven, you die and there is nothing after. the devil is not real either. he can't live under the earth I feel that it is wrong not to believe since what everybody is saying I have hope and faith but do I have to believe in God first? help me

God must be the beginning place for any type of faith, for without faith in Him there is no hope for anything, Hebrews 11:6. There are many people and movements that deny the existence of God. Many evolutionists would fit into this category. Their theories regarding dinosaurs and the existence
of man make no room for God. But the Bible clearly states that God created everything, and that would include dinosaurs, Job 40:15-24. When did they live? They would have been contemporaries of Adam. When did they die?  They probably died in the flood in the days of Noah. Perhaps the first
place to start seeking answers is to just look at the world around you. Could all this have really happened by chance? The mathematical probability that the world as we know it happened by chance would be, as one person said, about as likely as a tornado starting at one end of an airplane
factory and coming out the other end with a completed, ready to fly, 747 jumbo jet. Psalm 19 speaks of God's two books of revelation.

One is nature, verses 1-6. The other is His word, verses 7-14. You can look at nature and know there had to be a creator, but you can't really know Him until you study His word, the Bible. Get into the Bible, it's not just a story book. There are a number of religious myths that have developed over the years, many of them concerning the devil, including that he lives under the the earth. Where hell is we don't know, but we do know that the devil is active on the earth tempting men to rob, cheat, steal, kill, etc. He is often pictured as red, with horns and a pointed tail, and carrying a pitchfork. Nothing could be further from the truth. He is an invisible spirit being, very powerful, but also very conquerable. As far as historical evidence for the existence of Christ, there are several sources. 

One is the New Testament itself. It proclaims the existence of Christ and His presence on this earth. As much as some have tried to deny the credibility of the New Testament, it hasn't been done yet. Some would not accept this testimony though, but there is more. Jewish testimony also bears historical testimony to Him. The Jewish historian Josephus (37-100AD) mentions Christ twice in his Antiquities of the Jews. The Jewish Babylonian Talmud, written in the fifth century AD mentions Christ. Then there is ancient secular testimony. Around 112 AD Pliny, governor of Bithynia, wrote a letter to the Roman Emperor Trajan and mentions Christ. The Roman historian Tacitus in his Annals (115 AD) makes reference to Christ. Roman writer Seutonius in about 120 AD makes reference to Christians. All in all, the evidence is overwhelming, and the impact of the Christian movement through the centuries only gives credence to it.

Don't give up on believing in Christ. Study the Bible and listen to its inspired message concerning God and His Son. Your study will also answer further questions for you, including about heaven and death and life eternal.