For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. – 2 Peter 1:16
The preceding pages contained only a tip of the iceberg of the evidences that support the Bible as the true Word of God. If you are a skeptic in honest search of the truth, I sincerely encourage you to further your investigation by searching the Internet, the library, or whatever is comfortable for you and compare side-by-side the various religious beliefs. If you truly want to find the one True God, you will assuredly find him (I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me (Prov 8:17).
When considering Christianity, a good place to start would be with something I didn’t touch on much here, the most important event in history that was the catalyst that eventually turned the skeptical Law Professor Dr. Simon Greenleaf to Christianity – the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There are three indisputable historical facts that even the most liberal scholars agree on: 1) Jesus Christ was a real person who lived in Judea in the first century, 2) Christ was hung on a cross to die, 3) Christ’s tomb was empty. Given these three facts, coupled with the scores of complimentary evidences you will find regarding his resurrection, it will be very difficult to escape the conclusion that Christ truly did rise from the dead, and is thus who He claims to be, God.
Paul Harvey some time ago recited the following story about a religious skeptic:
One raw winter night the man heard an irregular thumping sound against the kitchen storm door. He went to a window and watched as tiny, shivering sparrows, attracted to the evident warmth inside, beat in vain against the glass.
Touched, the farmer bundled up and trudged through fresh snow to open the barn door for the struggling birds. He turned on the lights and tossed some hay in the corner. But the sparrows, which had scattered in all directions when he emerged from the house, hid in the darkness, afraid.
The man tried various tactics to get them into the barn. He laid down a trail of Saltine cracker crumbs to direct them. He tried circling behind the birds to drive them to the barn. Nothing worked. He, a huge, alien creature, had terrified them; the birds couldn’t comprehend that he actually desired to help. The farmer withdrew to his house and watched the doomed sparrows through a window. As he stared, a thought hit him like lightning from a clear blue sky: If only I could become a bird – one of them – just for a moment. Then I wouldn’t frighten them so. I could show them the way to warmth and safety.
At the same moment, another thought dawned on him. He grasped the reason Jesus was born1.
God through the Bible has warned us of the intense spiritual battle that has been taking place on this planet since the beginning of time, and that Satan and his demonic minions will employ many various methods and tricks, including false religions, evolution, and church hypocrisy to deceive us and turn us away from the God he despises. Since we are created in the image of God, we remind Satan of the God he so hates, so he will stop at nothing to take as many of us with him as he can to eternal damnation.
Though Satan makes it easier for us to choose the wrong path, the Holy Spirit points us to the truth so that ultimately it’s our choice and our choice alone whether or not we will accept or reject the one true God and the gift of salvation graciously given us through the price paid by his Son on the cross. The Lord is “longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 2:4). But God created us with a free will, and since love cannot be manufactured or forced on someone, we have been given the freedom to choose to embrace Him or reject Him. God is a Gentleman who will not force himself upon us. Either we will say “Thy will be done”, or he will tell us “thy will be done”.
If I asked you to bet your life against a one-in-a-million shot at winning the lottery, you would obviously turn me down. Yet many are willing to bet their eternal soul against odds far greater than what would be required to win the lottery. God has provided us with overwhelming evidence through the Bible of who He is. I pray that if you haven’t already, you will accept God’s free invitation of salvation through the price paid by Jesus’ innocent blood on the Cross at Calvary. What could possibly be more important than your soul’s eternal destiny? A simple prayer asking for God’s forgiveness and accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior is all it takes to accept this free gift of eternal life!!!
There was a story told once of an encounter between Clara Barton, renowned humanitarian and founder of the Red Cross, and a future president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. During the Spanish American War, Colonel Roosevelt approached Nurse Barton and offered her money for food and other supplies for his banged up and ravished Rough-Riders. Barton refused his request. Confused, Roosevelt went to the resident Surgeon and explained what had happened. The Surgeon told Roosevelt to return and simply ask for the supplies. A smile slowly crept across the Colonel’s face as he went and asked Nurse Barton for the supplies, which she then immediately provided him. Grace is something that cannot be bought or worked for, as there is no price that can be put on it. Simply ask, and it will be given to you! Remember, God keeps his promises!
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you (Matt 7:7).”
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
You can watch an online video presentation of this material, plus much more including answers to tough questions like slavery in the Bible.
Free PowerPoint Presentation: BibleApologetics.ppt
Be sure to check out my satirical Evolution, A Fairy Tale for Grownups website!
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For a list of my theological beliefs, please visit this page.
Finally, if you enjoy NFL football and March Madness, I run a free site where you can run your own league or join one of ours, at officepoolstop.com.
1. Excerpt from Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival , 1997, pg 250-251.
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