THE CHRISTIAN FAITH CHRISTIANITY WHY?

Transcription

1 THE CHRISTIAN FAITH CHRISTIANITY WHY?

2 What an important question! The answer to that question is important to you, and to everyone you know. It concerns your happiness during your life on earth, and for life after death. CHRISTIANITY WHY? Is a Bible question, and therefore, you can have a Bible answer.

3 We find the name of "Christian" three times in the New Testament. Please write these scriptures down and then read them in your own Bible. New Testament "Acts of Apostles" Chapter 11, verse 26. The last part of this verse says: "The disciples were called Christians, first at Antioch."

4 The second time "Acts of Apostles" Chapter 26, verse 28. The Apostle Paul was given an opportunity to speak before King Agrippa, and tell why he was a believer in Jesus. At the conclusion of his speech, King Agrippa said, "almost thou persuade me to be a Christian".

5 The 3 RD Apostle Peter, I Peter, Chapter 4, verse First he warns us not to be a murderer, or a thief, or an evil doer, or a busy-body in other people's business. Following these statements he says: "Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf".

6 The name "Christian" is divided into two parts - Christ and "ian". It means belonging to Christ. Therefore, when we wear the name Christian, we are wearing Christ's name and we tell the world we belong to Christ.

7 The name of Christ is the only name we are to wear, and whereby we can be saved. ACTS 4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." Christians are members of the "Body of Christ" Ephesians 5: 30.

8 When one considers becoming a member of any group, organization, or club, one thinks about the advantages, or rewards of such action. One must also find out how to qualify, or what steps are necessary, to become a member of the group.

9 This is also true when one considers becoming a follower of Christ. There certainly are advantages, and rewards, when one becomes a Christian, and lives by the Lord's teachings.

10 To qualify for the advantages, and be entitled to the rewards, one must take certain steps to become a member of the Lord's family. The second Chapter of Acts gives an example of about 3000 people becoming Christians. Let s read it to see how they became members

11 ACTS CHAPTER TWO Contents: Holy Spirit s coming on day of Pentecost. The gospel given to the Jews. Peter s great sermon on the resurrected Christ, and the conviction of the people. Characters: God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, disciples, Peter, Joel, David. Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven

12 ACTS CHAPTER TWO Conclusion: Upon Jesus Christ s return to heaven, He poured forth the Holy Spirit upon His own, proving His arrival there as the crucified Lamb of God, and distinguishing His followers as messengers from heaven. The fullness of the Holy Spirit is necessary to a true understanding of the Scriptures and to the presenting of Jesus the Christ in convicting power to unsaved men.

13 ACTS CHAPTER TWO Striking Facts: vv Three conclusive proofs are here given that Jesus Christ arose from the dead. 1. He was seen by the disciples. 2. The Holy Spirit has come upon men, and this promise was conditioned by Jesus upon His resurrection. 3. The prophecies declared He must not see corruption.

14 "What is the day of Pentecost? Answer: Pentecost is significant in both the Old and New Testaments. Pentecost is the Greek name for a festival known in the Old Testament as the Feast of Weeks (Leviticus 23:15; Deuteronomy 16:9).

15 "What is the day of Pentecost? The Greek word means fifty and refers to the fifty days that have elapsed since the wave offering of Passover. The Feast of Weeks celebrated the end of the grain harvest.

16 "What is the day of Pentecost? Most interesting, however, is its use in Joel and Acts. Looking back to Christ s last words on earth before His ascension into heaven (Acts 1:8), Pentecost signals the beginning of the church age.

17 Back to discussing membership From Acts Chapter 2, we find that God added these people to His church. We also realize, that these people had been forgiven of their past sins. Now we are beginning to see part of the answer to: "CHRISTIANITY WHY?"

18 Christianity should be considered for its historical viability. Christianity has historically rooted characters and events within its schema which are identifiable through forensic sciences like archeology and textual criticism. It is the literal history of the Jewish and eventually Christian tradition that justifies the theology of Christianity.

19 If Adam and Eve did not exist, if Israel did not have an exodus out of Egypt, if Jonah was just an allegory, if Jesus did not walk the earth then the entire Christian religion can potentially crumble at those points. For Christianity, a fallacious history would mean a porous theology.

20 Such historical rootedness could be a weakness of Christianity except that the historically testable parts of the Christian tradition are so often validated that the weakness becomes a strength.

21 Christianity have a key historical figure Jesus is shown to have risen bodily from the dead Many people in history have been wise teachers or have started religious movements.

22 But Jesus stands out. His spiritual teachings are confirmed with a test that only divine power could pass: death and bodily resurrection which He prophesied and fulfilled in Himself (Matthew 16:21; 20:18-19; Mark 8:31, 1 Luke 9:22; John 20-21; 1 Corinthians 15).

23 Christian doctrine of resurrection stands apart other doctrine s Only the resurrection can be deduced convincingly from historical and evidential study. The resurrection of Jesus Christ has considerable justification through secular and religious scholarship alike.

24 Resurrection involves one death, one life, one mortal body, and one new and immortally glorified body. Resurrection happens by divine intervention, is monotheistic, is a deliverance from sin, and ultimately occurs only in the end times

25 Christian Scriptures are historically outstanding, deserving serious consideration. The Bible surpasses all other books of antiquity One could even say that the history of the Bible is so compelling that to doubt the Bible is to doubt history itself, since it is the most historically verifiable book of all antiquity.

26 The only book more historically verifiable than the Old Testament (the Hebrew Bible) is the New Testament More manuscripts exist for the New Testament than for any other of The multiplicity of manuscripts allows for a tremendous research base by which we can test the texts against each other and identify what the originals said.

27 The only book more historically verifiable than the Old Testament (the Hebrew Bible) is the New Testament The manuscripts of the New Testament are closer in age to the originals than are any other document of antiquity. All of the originals were written within the time of the contemporaries (eyewitnesses), in the first century A.D., and we currently have parts of manuscript as old as A.D. 125.

28 The only book more historically verifiable than the Old Testament (the Hebrew Bible) is the New Testament Having all the books of the New Testament initially written within the times of eyewitnesses means that they did not have time to devolve into myth and folklore. Truth claims were held accountable by personal witnesses to the events, could check the facts.

29 Christian monotheism (One God) Christianity roots its ethics in the person of God. God's character is good, and, therefore, what conforms to Him and His will is good. What departs from God and His will is evil. Therefore, the one God serves as the absolute basis for ethics, allowing a personal basis for morality and justifying objective knowledge about good and evil.

30 Evil is any action that harms the relationship we have with God and/or another person. Evil is the rejection of God, His authority, and His preference, sin automatically excludes us from His presence. Freedom from the grasp of evil is only found in God

31 "What do you do with your sin? Christianity has the strongest answer to this problem Christianity, however, treats sin as moral error against a single, ultimate, and personal God. Sin demands justice. Yet it cannot be "balanced out" with an equal or greater number of good works

32 "What do you do with your sin? With Christianity, however, all sin is punished though that punishment has already been satisfied in Christ's personal sacrifice on the cross. God become man, lived a perfect life, and died the death that we deserved. He was crucified on our behalf, a substitute for us, and a covering, or atonement, for our sins.

33 Life is too short, and eternity too long for one to choose any other course. To become a Christian and live by the teachings of Christ is to live successfully. To neglect the great salvation offered to us is to fail in our mission and purpose on earth

34 Jesus came to earth to redeem us from sin. He died for us that we might live. He has gone to prepare a place for us in Heaven. If we obey Him he will come again for us that we might be with Him eternally! This is in part CHRISTIANITY WHY?

35 Here we go, JESUS, JESUS, JESUS Why do I have to do Jesus? Why is a guy who lived over 2000 years ago still relevant? Can t we just put in history and move on?

36 What's So Different About Jesus? Is he really who he said he was, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the World? People doubted Jesus for a long time, ever since he walked the sands and hills of Palestine 2,000 years ago. People who met him then didn't know what to make of him. Some believed he was God in the flesh. Others thought he was the devil himself.

37 What s so Different About Jesus Now, 2,000 years later, people still don't know what to make of Jesus. Is he really who he said he was, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the World? Is he just a smooth-talking philosopher, a great teacher with a radical view? Was he simply insane, a revolutionary man with demented delusions?

38 What do we make of this guy Jesus? What's so different about him, anyway? Some say: Jesus was nothing more than just a great teacher. But God? No way. Yes, Jesus was a great teacher. But he was much more. He claimed to be the Son of God, to have the power to forgive sins, heal diseases and raise people including himself from the dead.

39 What do we make of this guy Jesus? What's so different about him, anyway? Some say: Anyone who makes such claims can only be one of three things: A liar, a kook, or truly the Son of God. Christians believe Jesus was telling the truth for this reason: He said he would come back to life three days after he died. And he was true to his word.

40 What s so Different About Jesus? Some say: CHRISTIANITY WHY? Jesus didn't really come back from the dead That's just a fairy tale It is hard to believe. But there's just too much evidence to dismiss the resurrection as a hoax.

41 In Summary: Jesus didn't really come back from the dead That's just a fairy tale It is hard to believe. But there's just too much evidence to dismiss the resurrection as a hoax. If Jesus wasn't resurrected, why didn't anyone find his body?

42 What s so Different About Jesus? Some say: CHRISTIANITY WHY? Some say his body was stolen, by whom? It couldn't have been his disciples It couldn't have been stolen by the religious leaders Once Jesus' followers started claiming he was alive, the leaders would've said, "Nope. Here's the body.

43 What s so Different About Jesus? Jesus appeared to more than 500 people after his resurrection They hit the streets with the news: "Jesus is alive!" Even though they faced rejection, punishment and even death as a result. Why so bold, in the face of death? They knew what they said was true: Jesus had come back to life.

44 What s so Different About Jesus? Some say: CHRISTIANITY WHY? Jesus never really did any miracles. That's all made up Assuming he pulled off the ultimate miracle coming back to life it's pretty easy to believe Jesus could do "routine" miracles Giving sight to the blind, healing the sick, and making the lame walk

45 What s so Different About Jesus? Some say: CHRISTIANITY WHY? Jesus never really did any miracles. That's all made up The reason to believe the miracles actually occurred: Thousands and thousands of people followed him around and it wasn't just to hear his sermons They wanted to be healed.

46 How come Christians say Jesus is the only way, that theirs is the only true religion? When Christians say Jesus is the only way, they're only taking Jesus at his word: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

47 How come Christians say Jesus is the only way, that theirs is the only true religion? A Christian can't say there are lots of ways to get to God." To say this would be to say Jesus is a liar, and not God.

48 Some say: Jesus is no different from Buddha, Muhammad, and all the other great prophets who started the world's most popular religions. Buddha lived from 560 B.C. till 480 B.C. Muhammad lived from 570 A.D. till 632 A.D.

49 Some say: Jesus is no different from Buddha, Muhammad, and all the other great prophets who started the world's most popular religions. And the life span of Jesus? From before the beginning of time till long after the end of it. He's timeless, infinite, eternal

50 Yes, Jesus walked on this planet for 30-plus years. He has a date of birth and a date of death. He was fully human, while at the same time being fully God. But, unlike Buddha and Muhammad and the founders of the world's other religions, Jesus also has a date of resurrection. Jesus came back to life, and we celebrate it every Easter.

51 Some say: I don't need Jesus to get into heaven. I'm a good person. (I even act better than a lot of the so-called Christians I know.) But how good is good enough, when it comes to God's standards? God demands perfection, because he is perfect. No human being is that good."

52 Resurrection. That's the key: Did Jesus come back to life, or didn't he? It may be the most important question of the Christian faith. The apostle Paul said, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins Christians believe Christ has been raised. Because of that, we also believe he is God, very much alive and well today