Can a person actually trust the Bible? In the face of this question, most scholars—both secular and Christian—after having looked at the historical and literary evidence, agree that the Gospels, along with the rest of the New Testament, are “the best-attested documents in antiquity.” But many people in our society today think that it is ludicrous for a modern, educated person to consider the Bible legitimate. In this message, we will explore the historicity of these ancient documents to consider just how legitimate it is to trust the Bible.
The Messiah was the promised hope that would bring that freedom to everyone who trusted in Him. God appointed a time before the beginning of time that would be the best case scenario for the Messiah to come to the earth. The Messiah had to come at the right time so that He would fulfill all that was prophesied about Him in the Old Testament and enable the gospel to be spread throughout the known world.
What if there is only one way that leads to God? What if all the other religions in the world are leading people down a path to eternal destruction? What if Jesus is exactly who/what He says He is—the Way, the Truth and the Life? It is true that each of us has the right to believe what we want—but let me say again that we can be sincere about our beliefs and still be sincerely wrong. The culture says, “What is true for you isn’t necessarily true for me.” This brings us back to our original question, “Is TRUTH relative?” Do we determine what truth is, or is truth absolute?
For many years, attempts have been made to disprove the historicity of the man called Jesus of Nazareth—His virgin birth, His sinless life, His gruesome death and His miraculous resurrection. The foundation of the Christian religion is based upon WHO He is, as much as WHAT He taught; so opponents of Christianity have spent countless hours attempting to discredit the claims of Christ followers and bring into disrepute the One we worship as the Messiah—Jesus Christ of Nazareth. What proof do we have for the resurrection of Jesus?
When it comes to the spiritual leader named Jesus, everybody has an opinion. Jesus has a polarizing effect on people. You can talk about God and spiritual things all day long, but people don’t always like it when you talk about Jesus.
Who is Jesus? Is He a man? Was He a man? Is He a myth? Or is He God? The answers to this question are as varied as the people who supply them. People have been asking this question for the past two millennia. In fact, Jesus Himself was the first to ask this question. Who did Jesus claim to be?
There have been many so-called “Scholars” who have set out to disprove the existence of the historical God/man named Jesus. But as renowned Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Miami said, “We have more and better historical documentation for Jesus than for any other religious founder (e.g. Zoroaster, Buddha or Muhammad).” Edwin Yamauchi
Hell is the absence of God and every good thing that His presence brings to this world. If hell is the absence of God, then it is also the absence of everything good—joy, pleasure, laughter, music, art, food, water, etc. Can you imagine? God patiently offers us the free gift of eternal life with Him, but when man exercises his free will and chooses not to follow God’s plan, then his choice has determined his fate. John 3:17-18 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
There is an absolute right and wrong that transcends our cultural values and our human experiences. Skeptics push against this idea. This is where the popular saying–“it may be true for you but it’s not true for me”–came from. People are saying that Christians have no right to impose their belief systems about right and wrong on others and that we must maintain a relativistic understanding of morality. Paul addresses this issue and God’s moral law that is written on our hearts in Romans 2.
Society looks at religious beliefs about the origin of the universe as ridiculous and nonsensical. We are often dismissed as ignorant and irrational; and society says that we must keep our secular and sacred lives completely separated! Today, we are going to look at the scientific basis for the claim that there is no God. We will consider several fields of study including: 1) Anthropology, 2) Cosmology, 3) Biology and 4) Astronomy.
Philosophy professor, Ronald Nash, states, “Every philosopher believes that the most serious challenge to theism was, and is, and will continue to be the problem of evil.” This is the issue that we hope to address this morning—“If God is good, why is there so much pain, and suffering, and evil in the world?” Another philosopher, David Hume, poses the problem of evil and sufferance in this way. He says, “Is God willing to prevent evil but not able? Then he is impotent. Is he able to but not willing? Then his is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Why then is there evil?”