It s been a tough week for the Easter Bunny! i ARTICLE & VIDEO

Transcription

1 EASTER John 8:46 John 11:25 Grace Church of Eden Prairie Pastor Troy Dobbs Sunday, March 27, 2016 It s been a tough week for the Easter Bunny! i ARTICLE & VIDEO It s been a great week for JESUS though We celebrate Him today all over the globe! 1

2 For the record people (in the 1 st Century) were not gullible rubes ready to believe anything. ii They were not naïve or dense. They understood dead people tend to stay dead which is why the resurrection of Jesus shook them deeply (and revolutionized them completely). That is what a Resurrection does! From the outset of Christianity 2

3 Christians have embraced that: Christ died for our sins. was buried. And then raised on the third day. And that He appeared to Peter, Paul and James (the Apostles) and then to the rest of the disciples. After that, He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time (515 witnesses in all) Biblically speaking, the resurrection is the cornerstone doctrine of Christianity. 3

4 The resurrection of Jesus is actually so paramount that the Bible says Without it: Christianity dies stillborn. Today is senseless. Your faith in Christ is worthless. Your baptism into Father/Son/Holy Spirit is useless. You re a false witness about God. You are stuck in your sins and therefore at odds with God with no shot at making things right. And last but not least, your dead loved ones are decomposing in a box, not living in heaven. iii 4

5 The resurrection is everything to Christianity... The conundrum for me today is that with so much evidence and history and fulfilled prophecies affirming the Resurrection of Christ: iv Why are there still so many unconvinced people? Why are there still so many people who reject Jesus Christ? To that end today I want to tackle the 4 most notorious objections to Christianity. v 5

6 OUTLINES Objection #1 Christians are hypocrites. vi Christians say one thing and do another! Biblically a hypocrite is a play-actor a phony a person who wears masks a person who pretends to be something he isn t. Just so you ll know, you re in good company if hypocrites turn you off. That s right Jesus harshest criticism was reserved for hypocrites. 6

7 Let me give you a sampling of His disdain: 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, HYPOCRITES! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. Matthew 23:15 vii You never quite have to guess what Jesus is thinking do you!? And by the way that was ONLY one out of 7 statements made by JESUS regarding hypocrisy. Read Matthew 23 for the others! Obviously, there have always been and will always be hypocrites in the church! 7

8 However, the Bible doesn t ask us to follow people; it asks us to follow Jesus. viii So I confess: Christians don t always get it right yet the real question is not whether there are hypocrites in the church but whether Jesus is a hypocrite. ix If someone can prove Jesus was a hypocrite, then we ve got problems! FYI... the Bible presents Jesus as nothing less than perfect (from birth to the grave). x 8

9 Jesus disciples ALL testified that He was without sin and they lived with him for 3 years! xi Peter said: 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 1 Peter 2:22 xii John said: 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 1 John 3:5 xiii Even Jesus himself challenged his opponents to prove that He d ever sinned. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? John 8:46 xiv 9

10 So look at humanity and you ll find some hypocrisy. Look at Jesus and you ll find NONE! Objection #2 What about the atrocities Christians have committed? xv Some blame Christianity for religious wars the Crusades burning witches the Inquisition This issue of atrocities is simply an extension of the question regarding hypocrites. 10

11 My response is: Yes there are misguided believers who don t practice true Christianity that have perpetrated evil. xvi But just like every Muslim is not OSAMA BIN LADEN And every Wisconsin resident a Vikingshater (well maybe that metaphor breaks down here). Not every Christian is a hypocritical evildoer. Moreover, focusing on these atrocities can be a smokescreen to avoid the real issue. 11

12 How so well Christianity done far more good than harm to civilization. xvii Christianity has been instrumental in the formation of countless: HOSPITALS SCHOOLS COLLEGES ORPHANAGES RELIEF & CHARITY AGENCIES xviii Moreover: The concept of UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS and EQUALITY comes exclusively from the biblical idea that all people are created in the image of God. 12

13 The MODERN PRO-LIFE MOVEMENT is largely Christian. The pro-life view has been true from the very beginning of Christianity. A Christian document called the Didache, dated from the late first century or early second century, contained instructions against abortion. Christianity has elevated that status of Women - According to the book The Reason for God by Tim Keller (page 249), "It was extremely common in the Greco-Roman world to throw out new female infants to die from exposure, because of the low status of women in society. The church forbade however, its members to do so. 13

14 Jesus (we know) had women followers. The gospels remind us the women were the 1 st to the tomb on Resurrection morning. Additionally in the area of SLAVERY "Christians were the first people in history to systematically oppose slavery. Early Christians used to purchase slaves in the markets simply to set them free." It is also true that slavery was ended in great measure by Christian activists. 14

15 For example, historians credit the British evangelical William Wilberforce as the primary force behind the ending of the international slave trade (which happened prior to the American Civil War). Christians were credited for ending GLADIATOR brutality A 5th century monk, Telemachus is credited as being the pivotal force ending the gladiator spectacles. Christian Missionaries are credited with stopping CANNIBALISM in many primitive societies. I could go on and on but suffice it to say no other religion in history can compare to the good Christianity has brought to the world. xix 15

16 The achievements thoroughly outweigh the atrocities! So do we even consider that? We are intellectually dishonest if we don t! OUTLINES Objection #3 What about those who have never heard about Jesus? xx I ve said this before but: if you were genuinely concerned about those who ve never heard you wouldn t simply ask the question 16

17 you d sell all your stuff and move to a remote village in order to get the word out. Furthermore, I can say to you without blinking that God is zealously committed to getting the Word out to those who ve never heard. Immediately after His resurrection, Jesus called for a meeting and said, 18 And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. Matthew 28:18-19 xxi 17

18 Additionally, Matthew 24:14 says Christ will not return until the gospel is preached in the whole world. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14 xxii Thus, there is no commitment issue or compassion issue on God s end... but only on ours! OUTLINES Objection #4 It is intolerant to think Jesus is the only way to God. xxiii 18

19 For some people it feels UNFAIR or JUST arrogant for Christians to say that Jesus is the only way for a person to have a relationship with God. xxiv So let me start by saying this! CHRISTIANS did not invent the idea that a person can only be saved by Jesus. You know who invented this idea: JESUS xxv Consider these verses where Christ Himself eliminates alternative ways to God. 19

20 6 Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 xxvi 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins. John 8:24 xxvii Christ s apostles later affirmed His claim by saying (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12 xxviii 20

21 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5 xxix So it is not arrogance that causes me to say Jesus is the only way but rather adherence to what God says in His Word. SECONDLY, the Bible says if there had been another way for a person to be saved Jesus died unnecessarily! 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. Galatians 2:21 xxx 21

22 Why emphasize the cross? Why crush your Son? If in the end everyone is IN or if in the end there are multiple ways to God. THIRD Just because something is narrow and exclusive does not make it wrong. xxxi Example Two plus two equals 4 every time... that is narrow... but it is still right. Example: One person said Saying all roads lead to heaven is crazy. That s like saying I can dial ANY phone number and reach home. 22

23 Moreover, narrow and exclusive does not make something wrong and it does not make a person intolerant for affirming such. Which leads to the question, why should a person believe Jesus claims over all the others? xxxii Well, let me tell you why... THE RESURRECTION! xxxiii God RAISED Jesus from the DEAD, proving that what He said was true. God did not send or raise Buddha from the dead. God did not send or raise Confucius from the dead. 23

24 God did not send or raise Mohammed from the dead. God did not send ANYONE but JESUS! xxxiv Apologist Greg Koukl made a brilliant insight regarding the aforementioned... Religious pluralism is the idea that when it comes to religious issues, all roads lead to Rome. In other words, it doesn t really matter what philosophy or religion you follow, as long as you ve got God in there somewhere and you re following your religion sincerely. This is an approach to religion that is quite popular now, but it has a serious flaw. 24

25 He goes on to say: Forgive me for stating something so obvious, but there is a difference between choosing an ice cream flavor and choosing a medicine. When choosing ice cream, you choose what you like. When choosing medicine, YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE WHAT HEALS. Many people think of God like they think of ice cream, not like they think of insulin. xxxv In other words, they choose religious views ACCORDING TO THEIR TASTES, not ACCORDING TO WHAT IS TRUE. 25

26 And then he said this, THESE DAYS THE QUESTION OF TRUTH HARDLY EVEN COMES UP IN THE CONVERSATION. xxxvi In closing, many of you have objected to/rejected the claims of Christ so I want to ask you today: Have you really done your homework on this? Have you really thought this through? Have you explored the veracity of the Bible how the Bible came to be? 26

27 Have you studied the history the evidence the fulfilled prophecies concerning JESUS? Have you thought about how significant / monumental the resurrection is? Have you compared JESUS to the other world religion leaders? I mean look at every other religious leader in history: Confucius Buddha Mohammad They are all in the grave! Jesus Christ isn t. His tomb is empty! 27

28 Jesus Christ alone possessed the power to overcome the grave. So who are you going to trust? Men still in their graves? Yourself? Or the ONE who said in John 11:25 I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. xxxvii 28

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31 i Video Easter Bunny fighting ii For the record people (in the 1st Century) were not gullible rubes ready to believe anything. iii Without the resurrection: Christianity dies still born. Today is senseless. Your faith in Christ is worthless. Your baptism into Father/Son/Holy Spirit is useless. You re a false witness about God. You are still in your sins and therefore at odds with God with no shot at making things right. And last but not least, your dead loved ones are decomposing in a box, not living in heaven. iv The conundrum for me today is that with so much evidence and history and fulfilled prophecies affirming the Resurrection of Christ: v the 4 most notorious objections people pose towards Christianity. vi Objection #1 Christians are hypocrites. vii Matthew 23:15 viii The Bible doesn t ask us to follow people; it asks us to follow Jesus. ix Christians don t always get it right, the real question is not whether there are hypocrites in the church but whether Jesus is a hypocrite. x The Bible presents Jesus as nothing less than perfect (from birth to the grave). xi Jesus disciples ALL testified that He was without sin and they lived with him for 3 years! xii 1 Peter 2:22 xiii 1 John 3:5 xiv John 8:46 xv Objection #2 What about the atrocities Christians have committed? xvi My response is: yes there are misguided believers who don t practice true Christianity that have perpetrated evil. xvii Christianity has far more achievements than negative experiences. xviii Christianity has been instrumental in the formation of countless: HOSPITALS SCHOOLS COLLEGES ORPHANAGES RELIEF & CHARITY AGENCIES xix no other religion in history can compare to the good Christianity has brought to the world. 31

32 xx Objection #3 What about those who ve never heard about Jesus? xxi Matthew 28:18-19a xxii Matthew 24:14 xxiii Objection #4 It is intolerant to think Jesus is the only way to God. xxiv For some people it seems UNFAIR or flat out arrogant for Christians to say that Jesus is the only way for a person to have a relationship with God. xxv You know who invented this idea? JESUS xxvi John 14:6 xxvii John 8:24 xxviii Acts 4:12 xxix 1 Timothy 2:5 xxx Galatians 2:21 xxxi THIRD Just because something is narrow and exclusive does not make it wrong. xxxii Which leads to the question, why should a person believe Jesus claims over all the others? xxxiii The resurrection! xxxiv God did not send or raise Buddha from the dead. God did not send or raise Confucius from the dead. God did not send or raise Mohammed from the dead. God did not send ANYONE but JESUS! xxxv Religious pluralism is the idea that when it comes to religious issues, all roads lead to Rome. It doesn t really matter what philosophy or religion you follow, as long as you ve got God in there somewhere and you re following your religion sincerely. This is an approach to religion that is quite popular now, but it has a serious flaw. Forgive me for stating something so obvious, but there is a difference between choosing an ice cream flavor and choosing a medicine. When choosing ice cream, you choose what you like. When choosing medicine, you have to choose what heals. Many people think of God like they think of ice cream, not like they think of insulin. - Apologist Greg Koukl xxxvi These days the question of truth hardly even comes up in the conversation. xxxvii John 11:25 32