John 5. ‘I have my own opinions, so don’t bother me . . .’

Dog walks are a great way to meet people, particularly if you have an evangelistic dog who loves to introduce herself to people.  

This week my dog introduced me to someone out for a stroll,  After general chat for five minutes I asked him off he would like to read an article based on a talk I had written and handed it to him.  He briefly looked at it and said defensively:

“I’m a Catholic.”

How should I react,

“Oh that’s good, then you will enjoy what is written here as it is based on what Jesus taught.”

“No thank you”, and handed the article back!

I should add that this is a most unusual reaction.  The vast majority of people accept them willingly and I have never seen them thrown on the ground round the corner.  Such articles do seem to be a very good way to help people understand what Jesus and his apostles taught.

It is noticeable that people with strong religious affiliations find it difficult to to rethink what they believe in. It doesn’t matter what that religion is.

Jesus faced a similar problem with religious people in his day.  They’re fixed in their understanding.  Jesus had visited the pool of Bethesda, where there were many chronically infirm people.  There was one man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  John records:

“Jesus said to him, ‘Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.’At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.”  The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ” John 5:8-10

The Jewish authorities  were only concerned that their understanding of the Jewish law had been broken.  The fact that a man had been supernaturally cured became insignificant in their eyes when the great crime of religious or political rules were broken.  Their thinking was blinkered by their religion:

“So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him.” John 5:16

The persecution of Alexei Navalny in Russia also shows what people in authority will do when their behaviour is criticised  He was an outspoken lawyer who repeated spoke about and organised public demonstrations about the corruption going on in Russia and was getting a significant following.  What he was saying was true but the authorities hated the influence he was having so they repeatedly imprisoned him and finally killed him.  

Jesus’ claim

Jesus’ response to this attack was to state the truth.  The religious people had interpreted God’s law incorrectly. God still sustains his universe everyday of the week so why shouldn’t his Son:

“In his defence Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” John 5:17-18

When I was at school a teacher told us that Jesus never claimed to be God.  That is untrue.  I doubt that teacher had ever studied the gospels.  Why don’t people want to investigate Jesus claims?

In this situation the authorities did understand what Jesus was claiming - he was making himself equal to God but simply rejected his claim to be the Messiah, God’s chosen king, the Son of God.  The evidence of the miracles, the evidence of the Old Testament Scriptures giving details about the Messiah were all there.   The religious people in Jesus day did not want to investigate, just as many today hold strongly to their own beliefs and refuse to investigate Jesus claims.  It doesn’t seem to matter what their faith is, whether ‘Atheism’, ‘Islam’, ‘Christianity’ or whatever religion, people can have closed minds to truth.  Paul came to the same conclusion in his attempts to persuade people about the truth concerning Jesus by presenting the evidence:

“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel in the glory of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:4

Jesus does not back down.  He emphatically repeats his claim to be the Son of God:

“Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.” John 5:19-20

The evidence for Jesus being God’s Messiah

Jesus then outlines the sort of evidence there is to support his claim.

1.  His Miracles

The miracles that Jesus was performing, such as the healing of the paralysed man, were extraordinary evidence supporting his claim:

“Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.” John 5:20-21 

Jesus raised three specific people from the dead according to the canonical Gospels: the daughter of Jairus, the son of the widow of Nain, and his friend Lazarus; additionally, many unnamed saints were resurrected at the time of Jesus' crucifixion, as described in Matthew 27:50–53.  He also gives eternal life to those he choses.

2.  His resurrection

However the absolute proof that Jesus is the Son of God was to be his own resurrection, three days after he had been crucified.

The following sceptics all set out to finally disprove the claims of Christianity and the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ.  They all felt these claims to be untrue and that the public were gullible.

Simon Greenleaf (1783 – 1853) became a very successful lawyer in the United States. He was one of the active principal founders of Harvard Law School and in 1833 he acceded to the Royall Professorship at Harvard University.  When it came to the law of evidence, Simon Greenleaf was an expert. He wrote, ‘A Treatise of the Law of Evidence’ which was published in 1842. His sceptical views of the Christian religion were shared with his students. He claimed the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a hoax or myth. 

One day some Christian students challenged Professor Greenleaf. These students asked him to use the laws of legal evidence to investigate the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. After some coaxing, he finally agreed to their challenge. He decided that he would study the evidence offered by various witnesses in the gospels to finally disprove Christianity. He studied the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John applying everything he knew about the rules of evidence. He looked for consistency and anything that could be contradictory. He compared the Gospels with first and second century writers who wrote about Jesus outside of the Bible. Some of the writings he studied were Tacitus, Josephus, and Seutonius. 

To his surprise, Simon Greenleaf concluded that the evidence supplied in the Gospels was sufficient to prove in any court of law that the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ was fact and not fiction. Jesus lived on this earth, died, and rose from the dead. Greenleaf further stated, 

“Why would twelve disciples give up everything they had or could possibly ever have on this earth to face an executioner’s death?”

He said, no man would die for a lie. Considering the results of his investigation, Simon Greenleaf became a Christian and wrote the book, ‘The Testimony of Evangelists: The Gospels Examined by the Rules of Evidence.’

Frank Morrison (1881 – 1950) is a pseudonym pen name for Albert Henry Ross. He worked for an advertising agency and freelanced as a writer. He enjoyed science.and was an amateur astronomer. One of his heroes was Thomas Huxley a biologist also known as “Darwin’s Bulldog.” Huxley was an atheist who believed miracles like those in the Bible do not happen. Another influence in Morison’s life were the German critics who claimed that many of the stories about Jesus found in the Bible were unreliable. However, Morison had a deep respect for Jesus, although to him Jesus seemed more like a legendary figure. 

Morison states that, just for his peace of mind, he wanted to discover the true Jesus. He decided to write a short monograph on the life of what he felt was the true Jesus, focusing on the last seven days of His life. Morison would use his scientific mind to strip the Christian Gospel of its primitive beliefs and dogmatic suppositions. The title of his work would be ‘Jesus, the Last Phase’.

He wanted to be as accurate as possible so he studied the Gospels and other writings like Josephus. But the more he studied, the more he was confused and convinced that the Gospels were true, and Jesus really did rise physically from the dead. Frank Morison became a convinced Christian. He could no longer write the book he had started out to write. He knew he had to write a different book. Now the book he did write about his research was titled, ‘Who Moved the Stone?’ It was first published in 1930. The evidence had convinced him that the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ had really happened.

Josh McDowell (born 1939) was born in the United States. As a teenager he had a lot of questions about life. He turned to education as the answer - and he determined to be a lawyer. At the college he attended, he made friends with some Christians but sometimes he felt out of place. One day he asked a young lady in the group, 

“What changed your life?” 

She told Josh it was Jesus Christ. Josh then told her he was fed up with church, the Bible, and religion. Finally, this small group of Christians decided to give Josh, who was a law student, a challenge. 

“Why don't you examine with intellectual rigour the claim that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?” 

Eventually, he decided to take up their challenge and would write a book to show how much of a joke Christianity was. For his research, he traveled all over the United States and Europe to gather as much evidence he could, evidence that would prove Christianity is a sham. He search was extensive. To his surprise, he kept finding evidence that suggested that Christianity must be based on truth. At first he started to ignore this evidence that was contrary to how he thought. He became very restless and could not sleep at night. He claims he was being pulled in two different directions. His intellectual mind told him the claims of Christ were true, but his will was being pulled in the opposite direction. Josh didn’t want to accept what he was discovering. He thought that becoming a Christian would ruin his life and the good times he was having. Josh said he finally was convinced about the truth of Jesus and his resurrection, gave up and gave Christ complete control over his life. He noticed changes in his life almost immediately. Josh recalls that he often struggled with a bad temper. He was now a new man. His career path changed. Instead of majoring in law he studied theology and then joined Campus Crusade for Christ International. In 1972 he published a book, ‘Evidence that Demands a Verdict‘ which has become a best selling overview of the evidence that the Christian faith is really true.

Lee Strobel was born in 1952 in the United States. He loved writing, research, and publishing and his lifelong dream was to be a journalist. He graduated from the University of Missouri and later attended Yale University Law School where he received a Master of Studies in Law degree. He worked for the Chicago Tribune as a Legal Editor and had won awards from the United Press International (API).

Lee had lived much of his life as an atheist. He lived an angry, narcissistic, immoral, drunken, profane life that was very destructive. His goal was to have maximum pleasure in life. He would often come home from work angry and drunk. He remembers one evening he was so angry he kicked a hole in the wall of his living room right in front of his young daughter and his wife. Many times, when he came home from work his young daughter would pick up her toys, run into her room and shut the door. 

His wife, Leslie, became friendly with a Christian woman and she invited her to church. Soon Leslie became a Christian. When Leslie told Lee about her newfound faith he became really angry. However, he then observed that his wife was behaving very differently, she was a better person and he liked that. One day Leslie invited Lee to go to church with her. Listening to the sermon, which was titled, ‘Basic Christianity’, made him want to investigate further the claims the pastor had made. Lee then decided to investigate this religious cult she was involved with. He vowed that he was going to use his journalistic and legal training to investigate if there was any credibility to Christianity. This led Lee into a two-year quest to search for the truth as to whether Christianity was fact or fiction.

Lee interviewed thirteen leading Biblical scholars all over the country of the United States. All through this quest he was frustrated. Leslie said some days it seemed as if he was getting some understanding, but some days he seemed sceptical. Leslie said she would leave open highlighted Bibles out and other books lying around the house, but it didn’t seem to help. After two years of laborious investigation, Lee concluded that to believe in his atheism required more faith than to believe in Christianity.  Then in 1981, Lee Strobel accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. Out of his two-year research came the book, ‘The Case for Christ’ which has become a best seller.  Not long after his little daughter, Alison told her Sunday school teacher that she wanted to know Jesus, because it had changed her daddy’s life - daddy was happy now and not angry. 

There are countless such stories.  Nabeel Qureshi was a passionate Muslim, raised in a devout  Muslim family.  When a student he loved arguing with Christians, trying to dissuade them from he thought was their naive and often superficial faith. His excellent book, ‘Seeking Allah, finding Jesus’ is very helpful for anyone looking for answers to the big questions of life.  After many years of searching he became a convinced Christian and concluded,

“When you apply the same level of scepticism to any other world religion, Christianity comes out top every time.”

3.  Our need for forgiveness

This is a powerful argument.  Jesus is asking us to look at ourselves and decide whether we have been living as God requires.  We must not be ostriches and pretend that how we live doesn’t matter.  Jesus says that we will all be judged:

“Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,that all may honour the Son just as they honour the Father. Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father, who sent him.” John 5:22-23

The basis of this judgment will be ‘Have I honoured God and have I honoured his Son?’  If Jesus is not the Lord of my life then I am facing the wrath of God when this judgment comes.  God will give us many wake-up calls during this life that help us think about our priorities in life.  We know what our priorities really are, as does God himself - any hypocrisy will become obvious at our judgment.

Jesus does not leave this threat hanging over us.  There is hope.  Notice how these two statements are prefaced that the promise of God is the basis of our confidence - ‘Very truly I tell you’ means ‘I, the Son of God, guarantee that this is true’.  The first ‘very truly I tell you’ assures us that if we belong to Jesus, if we ‘believe in him’ we are safe or ‘saved’

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24

The second ‘very truly I tell you’ reminds us that when the judgment comes we will be secure:

“Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.” John 5:25-27

What a relief to know that our judge is our Saviour who died for us and who has given us these promises so the verdict is not in doubt.

God’s judgment is not a subject that is often discussed but Jesus keeps reminding us that judgment is coming both for those who have died and those who are still living:

““Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out - those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.” John 5:28-30

What does ‘those who have done what is good’ mean?  The whole Bible makes it clear that we cannot save ourselves by the moral way we live.  Thus we read:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

“. . . he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:5

So ‘to do good’ must mean those good works that flow from belief in Jesus.  How we live differentiates genuine faith from mere outward morality or works done for our benefit. These good works Jesus is talking about are those that occur after we have a saving faith. To be saved, one needs the grace of God but authentic faith always expresses itself in good works. The Apostle Paul, in the Book of Romans, says something very similar: There Paul says that God 

“. . . will repay each person according to what they have done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.” Romans 2:6-8

What I think of God is insignificant compared to the one vital question:

“What do God and His son think of me?”

John 5:31-45.  Jesus gives us more supporting evidence‍ ‍

Its is not the lack of evidence that prevents people believing in Jesus, it is the problem of our hearts.  We don’t want God to be our God as his priorities are not ours.              

Dr. E.V. Rieu translated Homer for the Penguin Classics series.  He had been an agnostic all his life.  He was subsequently asked to translate the four gospels for the same series. When his son heard of this he commented,

“Its going to be interesting to see what father will do with the four gospels, and its going to be more interesting to see what the four gospels will do to father.”

He did not have to wait very long. Within one year E.V. Rieu responded to the evidence he saw in the gospels; he became a committed Christian and joined a church.  He subsequently sat on the committee that produced the New English Bible.

John wrote his gospel in order to convince people about Jesus.  He recorded key evidence, much as a barrister selects what evidence to present to a court to convince a judge and jury.  It is worth remembering the key verses he puts towards the end of his gospel.

“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book.  But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” John 20:30-31

In John chapter 5, Jesus selects some key witnesses to support his claims made earlier in the chapter to be one with God his Father.  Jesus has already had his say about who he is, but he acknowledges that his testimony alone is not enough.  As Mark Twain wrote in another context,

“His saying so don’t make it so.”

So Jesus calls up other witnesses,

The Evidence of John the Baptist

John appeared, unannounced, and started to preach in the inhospitable desert that God sees people’s hearts. Outward religion was not enough for God, a public repentance and turning back to the Lord is essential and this change can be sealed by public baptism.  People recognised that his was the voice of God and vast numbers responded to his shining light – temporarily.

“John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose, for a time to enjoy his light” John 5:35

However the main message of John was to prepare the way for God’s Messiah.

“ . . . but the reason I came baptising with water was that he might be revealed to Israel. . . . I have seen and testify that this is the Son of God.” John 1:31

But as so often happens John and his message were rejected.  In fact it was Herod Antipas who was so opposed to John the Baptist, because John had publicly opposed the affair that Herod was having with his brother’s wife.  This resulted in John being imprisoned and then beheaded.  When leaders reject the truth other people usually follow.

In the eighteenth century, London and all England were stirred by the preaching of the Wesley brothers and George Whitfield, much as John the Baptist’s preaching had affected first century Israel.  When he was young John Wesley, being an ordained Anglican minister, was invited to preach in London churches.  However after preaching in St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, he was told in no uncertain way by the Church Wardens,

“Sir, you must preach here no more.”

If you read the history of London in the 18th century, it is striking that the revival ministry of the Wesleys and Whitefield are hardly mentioned.  Historians were selective according to their own prejudices.  

For a time people rejoiced in the light of John the Baptist but then they turned back to their old ways.  They realised the implications of this teaching, and found this hard.  The evidence was there but they rejected it.

The Evidence of the Miracles

“I have a testimony that is weightier than that of John.  For the very work that my father has given me to finish, and that which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me.” John 5:36

Already in John’s gospel several of these miracles have been alluded to.  When Nicodemus, a ruler of Israel who sat on the Sanhedrin Council, came to meet Jesus his opening line was,

“Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who comes from God.  For no-one could do the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.” John 3:2

There are thirty-three separate miracles that Jesus performed that are recorded in the gospels but John tells us that he did many more.  A miracle occurs when the laws of nature are broken.  God also causes coincidences to happen but strictly these are not miracles.  In the Old Testament one of the features of God’s coming Messiah would be his ability to perform astounding miracles.  Isaiah talks about what will happen when God himself will come to his earth,

“Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.  Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.” Isaiah 35:5

Jesus did fulfil all these prophecies, both physically but also figuratively; the spiritually blind and spiritually deaf came to see and hear what God had come to do.

Earlier in this chapter Jesus had mentioned his ability to ‘give life’ to people.  Life was considered then as well as today, as a gift that only God can give to inanimate matter.  When Jesus was on the earth, he raised four people from the dead. He raised the widow’s son in the village of Nain (Luke 7:15), the 12-year-old daughter of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue (Mark 5:42), and Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha in Bethany after he had been dead four days (John 11:44).   Finally he raised himself from the dead after he had been crucified.  He had repeatedly told his disciples that three days after his death he would rise again.

The miracles Jesus enacted are important evidence and to reject this evidence will be counted against us on the day of judgment.  Jesus said later to his disciples that unbelief was irrational,

“He who hates me hates my Father as well.  If I had not done among them what no-one else did, they would not be guilty of sin.  But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.  But this was to fulfil what is written in their Law; ‘They hated me without reason.’” John 15:25

The Evidence of God himself‘

There is some debate about the meaning of the next argument Jesus uses:

“And the Father who sent me has himself testified concerning me.  You have never heard his voice . . .” John 5:37

Does this refer to the proclamation the Father made when Jesus began his public ministry, when he was baptised by John the Baptist:

“And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” Mark 1:11

This declaration was to be repeated when Jesus was transfigured into a dazzling being in the presence of Moses and Elijah on top of a high mountain. Peter, James and John witnessed this and heard a voice from the cloud clearly saying,

“This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him.” Mark 9:7

An alternative view is that they have heard God speak through the Scriptures as Jesus continues,

“ . . . nor does his word dwell in you, for you do not believe the one he sent.” John 5:38

The Evidence of Scripture

In Jesus’ time there were many religious Jews who scrupulously studied the Scriptures but somehow they had missed what they were talking about.  The Scriptures are all about God’s Chosen  Servant King who was to come into his world – His Messiah.

The Jewish Rabbis were meticulous in their copying and studying the Scriptures, which are now our Old Testament.  Copyists would only copy one letter at a time before going back to the original, just to be sure no mistakes were made.  They would check the central letter of each line and each book.  They would collect those sentences that contained all of the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet.  Each letter had a numeric equivalent and they loved to discover significances in such discoveries. 

The highly esteemed Rabbi Hillel made the interesting observations,

“More flesh – more worms

More wealth – more carefully

More maidservants – more lewdness

More menservants – more thieving

More women – more witchcraft

There was one thing he did value,

“More Torah – more life”.

Hillel went on,

“Whosoever has gained a good name has gained it for himself, Whosever has gained the words of the Torah has gained for himself life in the world to come.”

A similar thinking is seen amongst some Muslims who consider that learning the Qur'an by heart will put them in good stead with God.  Such people associate knowledge of the Scriptures with salvation.

A group of school children were taken to the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam .  They trooped into a room with paintings by Rubens.  The children started to criticise the pictures and discussed all that they considered to be wrong, ‘The hands are two big,’ ‘No-one smiles like that,’ The colours aren’t real,’ and so on.  After a while the curator could stand this no more and he went up to the teacher in charge and said,

“Please could you explain to the children that it is not the Rubens pictures that are being judged here, it is the visitors.” 

There is great power in the Bible to change people – but only if we see our need, are willing to be changed, and submit to the Saviour the Bible talks about.  If we, like those children in the art museum, think we are superior, then we can gain nothing from God’s word.  This is what Moses said to God’s chosen people of old,

“Take this book of the Law and place it besides the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God.  There it will remain as a witness against you.  For I know how rebellious and stiff necked you are.  If you have been rebellious against the LORD while I am still alive and with you, how much more will you rebel after I die.” Deuteronomy 31:26-27

Many homes have a Bible somewhere on their bookshelves.  In Victorian times most families would have a large Family Bible but this was usually just used to record births, deaths, and to press flowers.  Yet the Bible tells us how our relationship with God can be restored by Jesus, God’s Messiah.

All of God’s people should be Bible students, should work to understand it, and learn sections by heart.  Without such dedication we cannot progress as Christians.  Dr. Harry Ironside became Minister of Moody Church in Chicago.  He had no college education yet became the foremost Bible teacher in his generation.  From his biography we learn,

“Under his mother’s guidance, Harry began to memorise Scripture from the age of 3.  By the age of 14 he had read through the Bible 14 times, once for each year of his life.  During the rest of his life he read the Bible through at least once each year.”

On one occasion he was speaking at a conference and he and a fellow speaker began to discuss their own devotional life.  The other speaker said what he had been reading from the Bible that morning and he then asked Harry Ironside when he had read.  At first he was hesitant, but then he said,

“I read the book of Isaiah!”

He was saturated with the word of God.  This is true for most of the great Bible teachers.  John Bunyan, who wrote Pilgrim’s Progress spent 12 years in Bedford prison for refusing not to preach the word of God.  He had little formal education but it was said of him,

“Cut him and you will find his blood is Bibline.”

Everything John Bunyan did was steeped in the Bible.  The point of Scripture is to show us our deep needs and to point us to the only Saviour our creator has provided.

The agnostic who became a Christian, E.V. Rieu, concluded about the Bible,

“These words bear the seal of the Son of Man and of God, and they are the Magna Carta of the human spirit.”

The Evidence of Jesus’ Character

A leader needs to be clear and resolute and that is precisely what Jesus is.  He is above being concerned with what others think of him, he is determined to do what is right:

“I do not accept praise from men.”

There are many great people in history who have persistently stood up for what they are certain is right.  John Bunyan (1661-1672), the writer of ‘Pilgrims Progress spent twelve years in Bedford prison for preaching the gospel without a license after the Restoration of the monarchy. He felt his duty to obey god trumped the law and so he refused to stop preaching about Jesus even though this meant he forfeited his freedom.  Alexei Navalny was a public critic of corruption in Putin’s Russia.  He was repeatedly arrested and imprisoned on charges that groups such as Amnesty international consider to be trumped up charges to silence him.  He was poisoned by the Russian authorities with Novichok and nearly died.  When he voluntarily returned to Russia he was arrested at the airport and sent to a harsh prison where he was probably killed.  These were men of principle who cared for truth more than what those in authority think.  There is something admirable about such leaders and Jesus set us an example of such altruism.

The Evidence of Our Hearts

God knows what is really important for each of us.  He is not interested in the volume of our verbal praise of him.  The only worship he accepts is hearts devoted to him.

“I do not accept praise from men, but I know you.  I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts.” John 5:41-42

The Bible students of Jesus’ day were much more concerned to be recognised by fellow scholars that to be recognised by God.  The way they dressed, talked and performed their outward religion was all to impress people – they weren’t so concerned about pleasing God.  Yet their Scriptures emphasised that true worship should always be the purpose of life.

A headteacher was addressing the pupils in his school on their speech day.  He said,

“The purpose of life is to discover the purpose of life and then to make that the purpose of your life.”

The Jewish Confession of faith, the Shema, taken from what God told Moses, explains the priority of life,

“Hear, O Israel:  The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:4-5

What God wants is nothing less than our hearts.  A missionary to some tribes people in the Amazon attended a tribal meeting.  The chief stood up and said,

“I am impressed with Jesus.  I want to give him a gift of some money.”

The missionary then told the group that God does not need our gifts.  The Chief thought again and said,

“I am so impressed with Jesus that I want to give him my youngest wife!”

Again the missionary explained that this was not what God required.  The light then dawned on the Chief, 

“I now understand.  God wants my heart, then I give myself to Jesus because he is God.”

How can people not be interested in the truth?  We cannot hide behind preconceived notions.  The truth does and will matter.

BVP     

God’s Judgment - It’s Not My Fault!

‘I was acting under orders so I am not responsible’.  How often people plead that they are not responsible when things wrong.  Will we be able to plead this when we face God’s final judgment which is coming to us all?

“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment . . . “ Hebrews 9:27

During the second world war many atrocities were performed,  After the war many of those responsible were tried by an international court held in Nuremberg.  One of the common defence arguments was ‘The Nuremberg defence’, legally known as the plea of superior orders. This was rejected because the International Military Tribunal (IMT) established that individuals are responsible for their actions regardless of orders, provided a moral choice was possible. 

The tribunal's decision was based on several core legal and moral principles: 

1. Individual Responsibility 

The Nuremberg Charter (Article 8) explicitly stated that acting under orders does not free a person from criminal responsibility. The judges held that crimes under international law are committed by men, not abstract entities like the state, and can only be prevented by punishing individuals. 

2. The "Moral Choice" Test 

The tribunal ruled that the true test of liability is not the existence of an order, but whether a moral choice was actually possible for the defendant. Judges argued that orders to commit atrocities (like the mass murder of civilians) were so clearly illegal and immoral that any person of ‘ordinary sense’ should have recognised their wrongfulness. Most defendants could not prove they were under ‘imminent peril’ or forced at gunpoint to commit crimes. Historical evidence showed that German soldiers who refused to participate in killings were often reassigned without facing execution or severe punishment. 

3. Prevention of Universal Immunity 

If following orders were a complete defence, it would create a ‘slippery slope’ where only the person at the very top (Hitler) could be held liable, effectively granting immunity to everyone else in the chain of command. 

4. Limited Mitigation 

While not a complete defence, the Charter allowed superior orders to be considered for mitigation of punishment if the court determined that justice required it. However, in most cases involving egregious crimes against humanity, this was not applied to reduce sentences significantly. 

Just before the main Nuremberg trials, a US military tribunal had rejected this defence for General Anton Dostler, who executed 15 Americans under Hitler's orders, setting a clear precedent.

These principles were codified into Nuremberg Principle IV, which remains a foundation of international law and the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

What defence can we plead at our own judgment?

Before going to trial it is a wise defendant who has prepared his case before hand.  What can I plead and what will my judge, Jesus himself make of my argument?

1. Not recognising God’s court

Refusing to recognise a court's authority is virtually never an effective legal defence. While it is a common tactic in certain fringe ideologies, it almost always leads to more severe legal consequences rather than an acquittal. Arguments that a court lacks jurisdiction because a person has not "consented" to its laws have never prevailed in any recorded court case.  The Bible scoffs at such a defence:

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, . . . “ Romans 1:18-20

2.   Ignorance of God’s Law

This argument is not acceptable either.  However no-one can honestly sat that they are ignorant of the way they ought to live, the principles are in-build into each of us.  What child doesn’t learn very early the concept ‘It’s not fair . . .”.

“ . . . since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Romans 1:19-20

God sees that we all know his standards:

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?” Romans 2:1-3

3.    Not realising that my life was meant to glorify God

The evidence that God has created us for himself is abundantly clear.  Our consciences shout to us, our desire that others behave with fairness, integrity and love are a recognition that we all know what is important in life:

“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.” Romans 1:21-22 

Powerful men seem to think they can behave with impunity. Both biblical scripture and secular thought emphasise that earthly power provides no immunity from divine or ultimate judgment. These quotes serve as reminders that authority is often a temporary stewardship for which leaders will be held strictly accountable.

4.   Not guilty

Some will try to plead,

“But I have only done a few minor things wrong!”

Such people have failed to remember that God also sees what we haven’t done:

“If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.” James 4:17

In the 2001 film Captain Corelli's Mandolin, a chilling exchange occurs between an Italian soldier and a German officer during the massacre of the Acqui Division on the island of Cephalonia. After the Italians surrender to their former allies, the German army begins a mass execution of the Italian prisoners for treason.  As the soldiers are being lined up to be shot, one terrified Italian soldier cries out, 

“I didn't do anything!”

The German officer retorts, 

“Then you deserve to die,” before the firing begins. 

Passivity or ‘doing nothing’ is viewed as a fatal flaw or even a crime by those committed to the conflict.  Passivity can be treason and this is how God sees the way many treat him.

The Bible teaches that everyone, however powerful, will face the Judgment of God

God is the "Ruler of kings on earth" and that He shows no partiality based on status or influence. 

"He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: 'What have you done?'" Daniel 4:35: 

"For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God . . . each of us will give an account of himself to God." Romans 14:10-12

“For exaltation comes neither from east nor west... but it is God who judges; He brings down one and exalts another.” Psalm 75:6-7

“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne . . .  and the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.” Revelation 20:12

“For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”  Ecclesiastes 12:14

The lives of many powerful figures in the bible remind us that all are accountable to God:

King Nebuchadnezzar: Was humbled and ‘punished by God’ for believing his empire was built by his own might rather than by divine providence.

King David: Despite being a ‘man after God's own heart,’ he faced severe personal and national judgment after his sins involving Bathsheba and Uriah.

King Solomon: Although initially blessed with great wisdom, his later disobedience led to the eventual division and judgment of his kingdom. 

Reflecting Scripture, many influential thinkers have reflected on the inherent corruption of power and the inevitability of a higher accountability. 

Lord Acton: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad, even when they exercise influence and not authority.”

Thomas Jefferson: “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever.”

Abraham Lincoln: “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.”

Saint Augustine: “Remove justice, and what are kingdoms but gangs of criminals on a large scale?”

Martin Luther King Jr.: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

Hope

All people are in a desperate situation for none of us can match God’s standard:

“  . . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, . . .” Romans 3:23

However we can be given the status of being righteous if Jesus becomes our Lord and Saviour”

“ . . . and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:24

Salvation is a free gift that is given to all who turn to Christ.  We are saved by grace alone.

The question we must ask ourselves and those around us is 

“Have I really turned to Christ?  Is his honour the priority of my life?”

A Baptist church in Bournemouth had a mission, rather like ‘Passion for Life’ we hold. One night the pastor, Dr. Francis Dixon asked a man to share his testimony.  He said:

“This is how I was saved. I was in the Royal Navy. I was walking down George Street in Sydney, Australia and out of nowhere stepped a gentleman and he said to me, 

‘Excuse me, sir, but could I ask you a question? I hope that it won’t offend you, but if you were to die today, where would you spend eternity? The Bible says that it will either be in heaven or in hell. Would you think about that, please? Thank you. God bless you!” 

Then the man left. I had never been confronted with that question – I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I got back to England and met someone who took me to a mission and that’s where I became a Christian”.

Some while later that same church had a youth meeting and Noel, one of the visiting team shared his testimony. 

“This is how I came to know Jesus Christ. I was in the Royal Navy and my ship was stationed in Sydney. One evening I was walking down George Street when out of nowhere stepped a man. He said to me, 

“Young man, I have a question to ask you. If you should die tonight where would you go? Would it be heaven or hell? Now don’t try to evade the question, it must be one or the other.” 

What he said bothered me for many months. I sought out a Christian, he helped me, and I gave my life to Christ.”

Frank Jenner, who asked that question, was a short ex-naval man.  He did not know that he had been used by God to help many throughout the world to become Christians, many entering full time Christian work. Frank’s own journey to faith is every bit as remarkable as the lives of those he touched. 

“Before I knew Jesus” he said, “I lived the wild life of a sailor to the full and had become addicted to gambling. Then, in 1937, I met my Saviour for the first time and my life was transformed – the addiction to gambling gone forever.”

In gratitude for his second chance at life, he pledged to serve God to the best of his ability. He said:

“Each day, my aim was to speak to 10 people about Jesus, and I did so for 28 years until Parkinson’s disease took its toll. In wartime and in peace, good times and bad, I continued with the work that I had promised to do”. 

He did this by walking up and down George Street in Sydney talking winsomely to any he could,  It has been estimated that over the years Frank talked to more than one hundred thousand people. Actually more than most pastors would address in their lifetime.

BVP

Discovering a True Faith: One From God, Not Man

This article continues the theme of ‘Features of a God given Faith’ that is also on this website

What do parents want most for a newborn child? Not wealth, not achievement — above all, a relationship. Most of the training and love poured into those early years is aimed at that single end: that the child will grow up close to them, trusting them, wanting to be near them. If this instinct is written so deeply into human parents, isn't it reasonable to expect that our Creator wants the same thing from us?  These instincts come from God so a true faith will probably reflect these.

This instinct for relationships isn't the only thing that seems to come pre-installed in us. How does a baby know how to breathe and suckle without being taught? Why do mothers instinctively love and protect their babies, often at real cost to themselves? Why do parents across every culture want their children to grow up kind, honest, generous, and hard-working? These values appear built into nearly all of us, prior to any instruction.

C.S. Lewis made a similar observation the basis of an entire argument for God in his book ‘Mere Christianity’. He noticed that people everywhere, regardless of culture, appeal to a shared standard of fairness when they quarrel (‘That's my seat, I was there first,’ ‘Leave him alone, he isn't doing you any harm’). No one, Lewis pointed out, actually says ‘to hell with your standard’, instead they try to show they haven't really broken the rule. Lewis concluded that this shared ‘Rule of Fair Play’ or ‘Moral Law’ isn't something we invented, but something we all instinctively recognise as binding evidence. He argued that this is evidence of a Mind behind the universe that shares our sense of right and wrong.

The apostle Paul makes almost the identical point in Romans, writing that people who have never received God's written law still ‘show that the work of the law is written on their hearts’, their own consciences bearing witness (Romans 2:14–15). Long before Paul, the writer of Ecclesiastes observed that God ‘has set eternity in the human heart’ (Ecclesiastes 3:11), we do carry within us a longing for something beyond the material world. Doesn’t this longing reflect the relationship God wants with all people?

I once took part in a radio broadcast where four people were interviewed about the effect of their faith on their lives: a Sikh, a Jew, a Muslim, and myself as a Christian. What struck me was how similar our moral aspirations for our families turned out to be - honesty, kindness, generosity, faithfulness. This is not surprising if we are all made by one God, whose values are stamped into our shared human nature. Yet the details of these faiths, what God is like, how he can be known, what he requires to restore a broken relationship with him, are strikingly different, and cannot all be true at once.  How do we know what faith is true?  It has to be revealed to us by God

So when searching for a faith that comes from God rather than from man, perhaps these near-universal instincts are a useful place to start: what do they point to, and which faith actually answers them?

A close relationship

Just as parents long for closeness with their children, it seems reasonable that our Creator longs for closeness with each of us, his children. At the opening of Genesis, God walks with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day — intimacy is the starting point, not an afterthought. It was their rebellion, not God's absence, that broke the relationship. In the same way, a young child's deepest instinct is to a having a closeness to its parents. No one has to teach an infant to want its mother. That desire is simply there.

Augustine captured this longing in the opening lines of his book ‘Confessions’, written after years of restlessly searching for satisfaction in success, philosophy, and pleasure: 

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” 

That restlessness, the sense that nothing quite fills the gap — is something almost everyone recognises at some point in life.

Just as a teenager's rebellion against loving parents damages the relationship without destroying the parents' love, our rebellion against God brings separation without ending his desire for us. The tragedy in both cases is the same: the door is closed from our side, not his.

Our desire for a fair, loving father

Selfish independence breaks relationships. We have all seen the wreckage caused when someone insists on having their own way, indifferent to what those who love them want or advise. Jesus's parable of the prodigal son captures this precisely (Luke 15:11–32): the younger son demands his inheritance immediately, in effect, telling his father he wishes he were already dead to him, and the father, though it must have grieved him deeply, lets him go his own disastrous way. He doesn't chase him down or force him to stay.

What makes the parable remarkable is what happens next. When the son finally comes to his senses and trudges home rehearsing an apology, the father is already watching for him. Luke says he sees him ‘while he was still a long way off’ and runs to meet him, before a word of confession is even spoken. There's no lecture, no probation period, no ‘I told you so’, only celebration.

This is the kind of father the human heart seems to long for: not an indulgent weak pushover who lets us destroy ourselves without comment, and not a harsh disciplinarian keeping score. God is a father who gives real freedom, feels real grief when we misuse it, and runs to meet us the moment we turn back. Our instinctive desire for exactly this kind of father is itself a clue to the nature of the God who made us, he is a God of love.

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Our need for forgiveness

Sin breaks relationships. Most family breakdowns trace back to the selfishness of one or both people involved, and the damage often ripples out to everyone around them. A faith that genuinely comes from God, rather than one invented by man to make us feel better, will take the seriousness of sin seriously, not soften it, while also providing a real, workable path back.

Don't most parents, faced with an unkind child, say some version of, "Go and say you're sorry"? We instinctively teach our children that relationships can be repaired — but only where there is genuine repentance, not just the words. A half-hearted "sorry" mumbled to avoid punishment doesn't rebuild trust; a change of heart does. Repentance, not mere regret, is what restores relationship.

When a child breaks a window or hurts a friend, it is almost always the parent who ends up stepping in to sort things out and pay for the damage — the child rarely has the means to put things right on their own. In the same way, our sin damages our relationship with God in ways we cannot undo by our own effort. However sincerely we try to make amends, we cannot erase what has already been broken. If the consequences of our sin is to be mended at all, God himself must provide the remedy.

This is where religion and the gospel part ways most sharply. Religion, in the broadest sense, is humanity's attempt to climb up to God. Through rule-keeping, ritual, self-denial, or sheer effort we try to earn back what was lost. Ascetics fast, monks withdraw from the world, and moralists tighten their code, all hoping that enough discipline will settle the debt. But a debt that we cannot pay is not solved by trying harder to pay it. As 1 John puts it, reversing the usual order of religious effort entirely: 

“We love because he first loved us.”  1 John 4:19

The initiative, and the cost, is God's, not ours.

This longing for a close relationship with God is not a feature of religion.  The God of the religious is a distant God, who should be feared.  The ancient Greeks and Romans had such gods.  Much of Islam and other formal religions try to please God by keeping rules.  This is so different to real Christianity where Jesus came to pay the price for our sin and wants us to live in a close relationship with our loving heavenly Father.

Is Christianity a religion?

All religions work on a similar basis.  They begin with an initiation, a religious ceremony such as circumcision, baptism or some other initiation.  Then the newcomers are expected to follow certain rules or ways of living.  There are religious guides such as priests, gurus and imams to help people follow the way.  Then after death there is a personal assessment or judgment.  Those who pass the required standard are admitted to nirvana, heaven or a state of bliss.  In this respect religion is rather like a university course.  A student matriculates or is admitted to the course.  Then they have to do certain things such as attend lecture and seminars until finally the exams come along and those who have done well enough will receive their degree.  No work then no degree.

Christianity is not like this.  The Bible teaches that the only qualification for heaven is to be perfectly righteous and not one of us can reach that standard.  We will all naturally fail this judgment.

However there is an answer to our dilemma.  The judgement of those who are committed to following Jesus has already taken place, this occurred when Jesus died on the cross and there he took our judgment on himself.  Those who are following Jesus are accepted by God as being perfectly righteous because of what he has done for us.  The way that Christians live is because we have been loved by God in christ and we want to show our love for our Saviour in response.

Again we know that this is right because it is built into ur instincts.  Imagine a young man is attracted to a young lady and wants to marry her.  He gives her a book as a present.  It is a cookery book.  He explains what dishes he loves that this book describes and would like her to spend her life perfecting these culinary skills.  What would you think of that young man if he says’

“If you keep these rules I will accept you.  Otherwise you will have go back to your mother.’  

Such a way of thinking is ridiculous.  The wife serves her husband out of love and gratefulness.  To accept anyone on the basis of how they have followed certain rules would be utterly insulting to the other person.

Christianity offers us acceptance because of what Jesus has done for us.  He has chosen us to be his bride although he knows our imperfections.  We change the way we live in response to that love we have been shown.

Let us take a second look at the parable Jesus told about two sons.  One was a selfish prodigal who took his inheritance and wasted it in riotous living in a distant land.  However when he became desperate he returned home and the relationship with his father became very close.  He was so grateful for his father’s love.  In contrast the older son had always been at home but it is clear that his relationship with his father was far from close.  The message is clear.  It is not just that God accepts those who have gone wrong in their lives if they return to live under God’s authority, it is that God longs for a close relationship with people.  Many religious people think that because they have always ‘lived within the faith’ and follow the rules of their faith that this is what God wants.  This is not true.  God longs for a close relationship.  What do people think of a son who carries his father’s name and has been raised in his father’s home but who now cares little about that relationship.

The ‘older brother’ tends to hide in public because his activities look like faithfulness. It is possible to be someone in the pew every Sunday for fifty years, tithing, teaching Sunday school, technically correct on every doctrine - and privately convinced God is a ledger-keeper they're trying to satisfy. Meanwhile someone who spent decades in addiction or crime, but then returns to live under Jesus’ authority will describe their relationship with God in the language of overwhelming relief and gratitude. The lifelong ‘faithful’ one can look at that and feel cheated rather than glad - which is exactly the elder brother's reaction in the parable.

The common thread in all human religion is that adherence breeds a sense of superiority, compliance without warmth breeds resentment that masquerades as virtue. The person doing everything ‘right often can't even see what is missing, because on every external measure they're the good one. That's what makes it harder to address than the prodigal's failure — there's no rock bottom to force the reckoning. The parable's whole trick is that it makes the reader identify with the good son's outrage before the story quietly asks: but do you actually want to be near your father, or do you just want credit for staying?

God has defined the relationship he wants with his people in words from the  Jewish ‘Shema’

“The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” Deuteronomy 6:5-6

Nothing less that a close obedient relationship with our Saviour is acceptable to the one true God.  Love for our neighbour will inevitably follow from this close walk with God and his Son, but can never be a substitute

BVP

This article has been posted on the website www.bvpalmer.com where there are many other helpful articles and videos.

Christchurch Baldock is a Bible teaching, gospel centred, local church.  More details can be found on its website.  It meets every Sunday morning at 10.30 am in Knights Templar School, Baldock.      

Bernard can be contacted at berniepalmer1@sky.com

Features of a God-given faith

There is a multiplicity of faiths in our world today. While many are interrelated, they are often deeply contradictory. For instance, secular socialism - which operates as a faith for many - originally grew out of a Christian ethic regarding human equality. Communism emerged as an even more aggressive variant of this mindset; notably, Karl Marx wrote school essays as a young man reflecting Christian themes. Similarly, Islam historically intersected with Arian forms of Christianity; coins of the early Caliphs bore crosses, and their administrative capital was Damascus, an established Christian city.

In the 20th century, German National Socialism initially claimed a basis in Christianity, only to reject it later when Christian ethics denied Hitler's doctrine that the strong should dominate the weak. Meanwhile, world religions like Hinduism and Buddhism function primarily as philosophies, yet millions follow them with blind faith in the authority of their originators. Even modern humanists are essentially atheists who still desire to cling to Christian ethics. Finally, we see geopolitical faiths, such as Zionism and anti-Zionism. Each of these groups competes to convert new followers and retain the loyalty of those born into their systems.

Logically, if faiths teach opposing doctrines, they cannot all be true. How, then, can the truth of a faith be established? A true faith must be one that God himself authenticates because it originates from Him. A faith invented by man may partially reflect the truth, but it cannot be the truth.

The ultimate faith must be one that comes from God himself.  The acronym SUPREME is an excellent framework for defining a true, God-given faith. It balances both the divine, majestic qualities of a belief system with its practical, deeply human elements.

S - Supernatural: Transcends physical laws and originates from a divine source.

U - Unbounded: Infinite in scope, timeless, and unrestricted by human limitations.

P - Power for good: Transforms people into being what God desires

R - Resonant: Deeply echoes human needs by resolving guilt, providing purpose, and answering life's biggest questions.

E - Evidential: Grounded in historical, logical, and experiential evidence that aligns with reality.

M - Motivating: Inspires believers to action, driving transformation, moral excellence, and community service.

E - Endearing: Radiates a profound, unconditional love that draws hearts closer to the divine.

1.  Supernatural       

If a faith originates from God - who must Himself be supernatural to have spoken the universe into existence - there must be clear evidence of His supernatural hand behind it.

When God rescued His chosen people from slavery in Egypt, He authenticated His salvation through undeniable miracles: the ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the splitting of the Jordan River, and the daily provision of supernatural food, manna. God's people were constantly commanded to look back at these historic events.

Similarly, when Jesus came, His claim to be God’s Messiah was verified by miraculous healings. His physical resurrection after being crucified was not only heavily substantiated by numerous eyewitnesses, but it also proved His divine authority. God must be supernatural - utterly beyond our comprehension - to create the universe and then intentionally step in to supersede His own laws of nature at pivotal moments in history.

Skeptics may ask, 

"How can modern people believe in such anything supernatural?" 

The answer is that the evidence for the supernatural surrounds us. The formation of a baby from the union of just two microscopic cells is a daily miracle. Where do our intrinsic desires for purpose, moral values, and unconditional love come from if we are not created in the image of our Creator? These traits cannot be derived from a random mix of chemicals in a primordial soup.

Today, many choose to ignore the supernatural design evident in the human eye, the ear, or the complex language of DNA. Because their faith is limited strictly to the material world, their ambitions are reduced to short-term earthly success. 

Jesus addressed this exact mindset in the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12). A farmer enjoyed a superb harvest and decided his ultimate goal was simply to build bigger barns. Building barns was not the sin; his sin was greed and an attitude that entirely forgot God:

"Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions."  Luke 12:15

God’s final judgment on him was swift:

"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God."   Luke 12:20-21

Jesus teaches us that our worldview does not just influence our temporary lives now; it defines our eternal destiny. Materialism is a false faith. Everything hinges on Christ's authority.

The inherent desires we all possess point to our need for a faith that can withstand rigorous, logical investigation while simultaneously meeting our deepest soul-needs. Because we face the certainty of death, the true purpose of life must answer what happens next. Of all religious founders, Jesus alone provides definitive answers to these monumental questions.

A faith from God must directly address suffering and death. God allowed these realities to touch every human life, so His true message must contain the remedy. The Bible reveals that this life is merely a precursor to the next. Those who belong to God's kingdom will spend eternity with Him in heaven, while those who reject His rule will be separated from Him forever. For those who follow their Creator, this brings profound comfort and removes all fear of the grave. As the Psalmist reminds us:

"They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear."  Psalm 112:7-8

2.  Unbounded, universal

A true faith coming from God applies universally to every corner of His creation. Because God created all matter and life, any faith originating from Him must be incredibly wide-reaching:

“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:16-17

While many human religions hold a small, localised view of the divine, the Christian faith is limitless in scope:

“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” Colossians 1:19-20

The God who designed us cares about every facet of our lives, and a true faith must reflect this. The Apostle Paul commands:

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31

This powerful truth completely dismantles the artificial divide between the sacred and the secular. Eating, drinking, working, and creating are all daily acts governed by faith. A genuine, God-given faith dictates our language, family relationships, business ethics, and daily habits without exception.

3.  Power for good

A true faith provides a supernatural power that transforms human character for the good. The authenticity of a belief system is best revealed by the testimonies of those who turn to it. If the "faithful" become habitually angry, belligerent, and unloving toward others, their faith is almost certainly not from God.

Because a faith derived from God is rooted in absolute truth and verified by supernatural evidence, it naturally resonates with genuine human needs and makes people truly loving. These virtues reflect the very character of God. When God revealed His glory to Moses, He proclaimed His defining traits—traits that any true faith must reproduce in its followers:

“And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.” Exodus 34:6-7

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4.Resonant with human needs

Everyone has a faith on which they base their lives.  I recently met an immigrant from Afghanistan who said he had no faith whatsoever, he called himself an atheist.  Yet he agreed that, in his work, he relied heavily on rational thought.

“Oh yes,” he said, “I do believe in rationality.”

We talked about his family and about the values and morals he wanted them to grow into,

“Oh yes,” he said “I do believe in the importance of good behaviour.”

“So you are a believer, a man of faith.  It is just that you have decided to accept God’s creation, the value of rationality and of ethical behaviour but to reject where these values come from.  We are all believers in something,  The question I had when sorting these issues out, is how all the pieces can be fitted to gather if there is no God and if Jesus was not the embodiment of God who rose from the dead.”

We live in a world full of difficulties and illness and tragedy. A true faith needs to acknowledge this and have answers.  Escapist beliefs, such as Buddhism, deny reality.

We need answers

One of the features of humanity is that we are always looking for answers.  Why does our universe function according to precise laws?  We call them the laws of nature but nature cannot create laws, it just functions according to these laws.  We live in a mathematical world.  How can this be unless there is a rational, mathematical creator?  It is fascinating that even three thousand years ago there were people asking questions, such as who designed the eye and ear:

“Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?”  Psalm 94:9

“Ears that hear and eyes that see - the Lord has made them both.” Proverbs 20:12

It is absurd to think that these and all the other features of our creation developed randomly out of primordial soup.  Professor Anthony Flew was a philosopher and an ardent atheist who often featured on the radio.  When the structure and significance of the DNA code and the language it contains was discovered he realised that this could not be random.  All language has to have a mind behind it.

We have guilt

One of the human characteristics is that we feel guilt when we do something wrong.  Guilt is a major, often hidden, factor in much of the depression and anxiety observed today. While guilt can act as a helpful moral compass in small doses, persistent guilt is a significant, evidence-based contributor to the onset, severity, and perpetuation of mental health disorders. A core symptom of a major depressive disorder is feeling excessive or unwarranted guilt, often exacerbated by ruminating on minor past failures or taking responsibility for things entirely outside of one's control.

True faith is evidenced when the reality of my sin and the need of a pardon by God is recognised. This is not an intellectual nod to a theological doctrine but a genuine realisation. Most faiths fail to address this.  Most teach that if a person joins their group and tries to follow its rules, God should be pleased with them.  Religious and secular faiths cannot give people evidence based confidence that they are secure.  The word of a prophet or teacher is not sufficient without strong supportive evidence.  A true faith will have the answer to man’s greatest problem, at heart we do not want God to rule us so we cannot know his forgiveness.

When some academics in Cambridge were discussing whether any Christian belief was not found in other religions or philosophies, the writer C.S.Lewis answered,

‘Easy - its grace.”

He could have expanded this by saying that Jesus, entering this world  so we could be put right with God, is the ultimate evidence of this grace.

Almost every non-Christian view insists that people must do good in order to be rewarded.  This is the ‘Law of Karma’, we ‘keep what we sow’. This view is held in Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and western materialist faiths. To a limited extent this is seen in the affairs of this world but it cannot apply to a relationship with an all holy God.  There what we sow can only alienate us from God.

Marghanita Laski (1915-1988) was a popular novelist and outspoken secular humanist. In a moment of candour, she said on a televised interview: 

"What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness. I have nobody to forgive me.”

Christians have discovered the answer God has given us. We can know what it means to be forgiven because we have a scapegoat who paid the price for our sin when he died on that cross.. There is very strong supportive evidence for this being true.

We need a purpose

A lack of purpose can be detrimental to both mental and physical health, according to extensive psychological research. While it is normal to experience periods of drifting, a prolonged absence of meaning is often linked to significant negative outcomes. Lacking a sense of direction is a major driver of anxiety and depression, particularly in young adults. It can lead to chronic feelings of emptiness, hopelessness, and low self-esteem.  Individuals with a strong sense of purpose show better emotional recovery from negative events. Without it, people struggle to ‘bounce back’ from stress, as purpose acts as a psychological buffer.  Research by several institutions suggests that people with a clear purpose tend to live longer and have a lower risk of heart attacks, strokes, and dementia. A lack of purpose can lead to ‘purpose anxiety,’ making daily decision-making feel overwhelming. It is also associated with unhealthy coping mechanisms, such as substance abuse or obsessive behaviours, these can be used to fill the void. 

Based on his experiences in Nazi concentration camps, Viktor Frankl discovered that a prisoner’s ability to survive was directly linked to their ability to find meaning and purpose, even in the most miserable circumstances. He observed that prisoners who connected with a future goal or a ‘why’ to live for were more likely to survive, as this purpose provided the mental and spiritual strength to endure extreme, life-threatening conditions. Frankl’s observations formed the basis of his psychotherapeutic method, logotherapy, which asserts that the primary motivation in human beings is the search for meaning.

Studies have shown that faith in an afterlife is associated with lower levels of end-of-life despair. including reduced feelings of hopelessness, ideas of suicide, and a decreased desire for a hastened death.  This is relevant to the current debate about medically assisted suicide in terminally ill patients.  A lady in her thirties had a locally aggressive cancer of the breast.  She needed a mastectomy but could not bear the idea of losing her shape.  We therefore performed a mastectomy with an immediate breast reconstruction.  After the operation she said the if she had had to just be flat-chested on one side she was going to commit suicide.  I asked her,

“Are you ready to meet God then?”

This idea had never crossed here mind and led to a fascinating discussion about the purpose of life and how we can find answers.

We need relationships

God has created us to have an inherent desire for close family relationships.  Therefore a true faith will surely have a close relationship with God as a fundamental feature.  This is a major difference between religion and Christianity.  The essence of Christianity is that God loves his people and sent his son to save us.  Without him there is no salvation. The late American Christian teacher and writer , Tim Keller explained:

“Religion says, ‘I obey; therefore I am accepted.  Christianity says, ‘I am accepted, therefore I obey.’

This topic has been explored in the article, ‘Discovering a True Faith: One From God, Not Man’ that is also on the website BVPalmer.com.  The inherent need for relationships is a strong evidence that the Christian faith is true, and comes from God himself.

5.  Evidential

Evidence is the way to test any belief or faith.  We are rational people, so any faith must be in accord with logical thought.  To be a ‘flat-earther’ goes against the findings of science so must be rejected.  The discoveries in the last century about the origins of Islam cast much doubt over the authenticity of the Standard Islamic Narrative and the reliability of the Qur’an. Archeology has shown the absence of an ancient civilisation in Mecca, there was minimal water there, it was not the ‘mother of all cities’. Philosophical faiths such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism and Taoism cannot be assessed logically as there are no objective facts that can be tested. How can doctrines of repeated reincarnation or the laws of Karma be tested?

Any faith that disagrees with the substantiated evidence of good science will eventually crumble.  This is being seen in many islamic countries where a literal understanding of the Qur’an and Hadith demands that people do not ask questions about the conflicts that appear.  This is a major reason why many educated Muslims are turning their backs on Islam, even though they may still go under the title of Muslim. A true faith from God must fit comfortably with discoveries about the world this God has made.

The Christian faith is completely dependant on the person of Jesus.  He claimed to be the divine Son of God that the Jewish Scriptures said would enter God’s world as its Messiah.  He performed remarkable miracles that were acknowledged even by his enemies.  He said he would be crucified and would rise from the dead.  He said that faith in him would spread to all nations.  These doctrines can be verified.  The evidence is very strong that Jesus did exist, his miracles and resurrection were witnessed by many hundreds of people.  How did the church expand so fast when so heavily opposed by both the Roman authorities and the Jewish authorities and with no obvious military or worldly support?  The truth of all this can be tested with contemporary writings and archeology.  So Paul wrote:

“If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. . . . And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” 1 Corinthians 15:14-19

Any idea or faith that is true, when questioned and thoroughly investigated, will stand even stronger.  Investigating an untruth will reveal its difficulties and unreliability.  Why are Muslims not encouraged to investigate the claims about Mecca?  The absence of supportive archeology and a lack of adequate water supply proves it cannot be the ‘mother of all cities’, as the Qur’an and Hadith claim.  The qibla or direction of prayer of early mosques was not towards Mecca, that only came about much later.  

The Bible encourages people to test, examine, and prove what they believe to ensure it aligns with truth.: 

“Test everything; hold fast what is good" 1 Thessalonians 5:21

We must also examine ourselves and our motives to ensure that we are thinking as God wants us to, according to his truth, which is the only real truth there is:

“"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves," 2 Corinthians 13:5

6.  Motivating

The God who created this world cares about what happens in it.  A faith from him will inspire believers to action, driving transformation, moral excellence, and community service.

The Bible directly establishes that a true, God-given faith is never passive. It acts as an internal engine that inevitably produces a changed life, ethical living, and active service to the community.

There are many Biblical passages that teach this dynamic connection between faith and action include:

“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 1:17

Paul argues that genuine belief cannot be separated from outward service, just as a living body cannot be separated from its breath.

A true faith does not sit idle; its natural expression is loving action.  The Christian faith insists that we have been saved by Jesus so his followers live very different lives

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

Jesus gave himself to redeem believers from wickedness and to 

“. . . purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” Titus 2:14 

A true faith transforms a person's desires so that they actively long to serve others.  It is utterly life changing.

Paul urges Christians to offer their bodies as living sacrifices, which is their true worship. He commands them, 

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,”   Romans 12:1-2

Such a faith completely overhauls a person’s worldview and behaviour., although this will be a gradual transformation.  Peter provides a step-by-step sequence of spiritual growth, instructing believers to: 

“Make every effort to add to your faith goodness [moral excellence]; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control... and to mutual affection, love.” 2 Peter 1:5-7

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commands his followers to let their light shine before others, 

“. . . that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 

The community is meant to see the tangible beneficial fruit of a believer's faith. 

7.  Endearing

A valid faith will be characterised by having a supernatural basis, being evidence based, provide answers to the problems human face and will motivating, it will also be characterised by a love for people.  

Many philosophers have emphasised the significance of virtues like honesty, courage, kindness, and truth as central to the success human society. Aristotle argued that practicing virtues, finding the ‘golden mean’ between extremes, is the key to achieving a well-lived life. Confucius focused on Ren (benevolence), teaching that a stable, harmonious society is built on honesty, respect, and kindness. Plato identified primary virtues as courage, moderation, wisdom, and justice. Arthur Schopenhauer reckoned loving-kindness and compassion as the fundamental basis of all true morality.  It seems that these values are in-built into our make-up.  This surely suggests that these are characteristics of the God who made us.

The priority of exhibiting these values is an area where many religions break down.  The rules become more important than the values.  In communism, Islam, Nazism and sometimes in Judaism the creed matters more than personal integrity, rules matter more than people.  Those who oppose the creed are considered as enemies that can be disposed of.  Try to leave and there is much hatred.

A Muslim went to a Muslim Brotherhood school in Saudi Arabia where he received a good general education but, in the religious lessons, he was taught to hate those who oppose the teaching of Islam.  In contrast, when people rejected Jesus he simply left them, knowing that they would face his judgment later.

A genuine concern for the welfare of others is a mark of a true faith because this is a mark of the God who created us.  We recognise that this is true because we have instincts within us that appreciate when people care for us.  We all need to be loved, it is something within our make-up.

When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was he replied:

“Jesus answered by saying, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments” Matthew 22:37–40

The reason a true faith will be revealed in love is because love is the nature of the God who created us in his image. The Bible confirms this reasoning:

“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love”. 1 John 4:8

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them”.  1 John 4:16

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“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

The Old Testament also emphasises that an everlasting abounding love is God’s nature:

“The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3

"The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love." Psalm 103:8

James wrote, “I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18), and Paul reminds us that the first fruit of the Spirit is love (Galatians 5:22). But what does that actually look like? Going to church, tithing, praying, and reading our Bibles are all beneficial, they reflect a love and commitment to God, but they don’t necessarily express love for people.

Faith systems such as Nazism, Communism and radical Islam all place the creeds as more important than individuals.  Jesus was the opposite, he was willing to die for others because he knew there is a bigger picture than our short lives here on this earth. 

Real faith shows up in how we love imperfect people. It involves sacrifice, kindness, forgiveness, and intentional service — without expecting anything in return.

Jesus said the world would know we are His disciples by how we love one another :

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35

Paul expressed the same idea,

“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Galatians 5:6

An opposite of love is hatred and anger.  Anger is a temporary form of hatred.  Angry people lose emotional and verbal control, expressing unkind and sometimes terrible ideas against others.  A mark of a genuine faith is that God helps people to bring this under control and turn the other cheek.  Unfortunately some faiths encourage the hatred and anger of others and this is a sign that that faith does not come from God and is not true. 

Integrity will always be found in a true faith and in its genuine advocates.  Integrity, doing what is right in God’s eyes builds people up.  The opposite of ‘integrity’ is ‘dis-integrity’ or ‘disintegration’.  Failure to live as God wants so often leads to a person’s life disintegrating, their family disintegrating and eventually their society and even their nation disintegrating.  Jesus  was widely acknowledged to behave in a Godly way.  He could say:

“Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?” John 8:46

Paul, the apostle who taught about Jesus as the church was being established could say:

“Now this is our boast: our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity.” 2 Corinthians 1:12

Attempts to bypass truth in faith issues

The Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, near Chicago, is a renowned multi-faith building, featuring symbols from various world religions (including Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and Islamic) on its pillars. Completed in 1953, the nine-sided temple promotes unity, offering a quiet space for prayer and meditation.  This symbolises the longing that people of all faiths should accept each others beliefs.  In a similar vein some churches have had ‘multi-faith’ services which have a tacit assumption that different faiths are acceptable to God.

Such thinking is antagonistic to the teaching of the Bible. The God who made us is a God who refuses to share his honour with any.  He alone is God and he demands that all people recognise this.  This is why we must all accept the faith that the true God has given us.  The Bible explicitly teaches there is one God and he is the only way to salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ. 

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all”. 1 Timothy 2:5-6:

“Jesus answered him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except by me’”. John 14:6

“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

“One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all”. Ephesians 4:5-6

“I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God”. Isaiah 45:5

“. . . yet for us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things... and one Lord Jesus Christ”.  1 Corinthians 8:6

The Old and New Testaments consistently affirm that there is only one true God, it declares that reconciliation with God is only possible through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is identified as the only bridge between humanity and God.   We turn our backs on this loving God at our peril.    

How can truth be defined?  It is surely an absolute concept which, by a variety of rational means, we are trying to discover.  Some pointers to truth are inbuilt within us.  These cannot be proved to be valid but we accept them.  Our faith in rational thought is one.   This is why science is such a good way to understand our world.  Our desire for our faith to be evidence based is also inherent.  We have inherent needs for a purpose and for forgiveness.  We long to be loved.  All this evidence is personified in Jesus.

Our family was discussing over dinner whether love or truth were more important. We came to the consensus that they cannot be separated as love is part of truth and truth is part of love.  A faith without both is inadequate. The Bible teaches that both are characteristics of the true God.

‘Pascal's Wager’ is a 17th-century argument that suggests it is much more rational to live as if God exists than not. It was proposed by the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal in his posthumous work Pensées (1670). The argument suggests that it is far more rational to believe in God than to reject him. There is much evidence that there must be a God who created our universe according to laws of nature and mathematics, who gives life a purpose and a basis for ethics. Such evidence would surely win in a court of law. However, as Pascal as shown, the existence of an infinite God cannot be proved with mathematical certainty but that people should ‘wager’ because of the likely outcomes: 

If God exists, the reward is infinite gain, an eternal life in heaven. If God does not exist, the loss is finite and limited, sacrificing some worldly pleasures.

If God exists, the loss is infinite, an eternal rejection by God and suffering in hell. If God does not exist, the gain is only finite, a temporary independence or pleasure.  

By this logic, any positive probability of God’s existence - even a very small one - makes the expected value of belief infinite, making it the only ‘rational’ faith to hold. The stakes are high.

All these pointers suggest that the greatest discovery anyone can make is to find that Jesus is indeed the answer to a valid faith that comes from God. A search for such a valid faith must therefore start with him and by reading the records of his life written by his close contemporaries.  Many have discovered Jesus, his death and resurrection, his miracles, his character and his fulfilment of over 330 prophecies about the Messiah given in the Jewish Scriptures stands firmly even under the most rigorous investigation.  This is why he alone can say:

“I am the way, the truth and the life.  No-one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Truth, love, forgiveness and the supernatural must all be features of a true faith that comes from God.  They are in different dimensions but together they make a robust faith that is worth living and dying for.

It is significant that, excluding the supernatural, these feats of a faith from God are the same features that exist in strong families of every nation or creed and how loving parents want their children to develop.  It is as though we instinctively know these values to be real and of God.

Conclusion: The Ultimate Test of Truth

Ultimately, a faith constructed by human hands will always bear human limitations. It will remain bound by culture, confined to material desires, and powerless to solve the ultimate realities of sin, suffering, and death. Conversely, a faith given by God carries His signature: it breaks through human history with supernatural authority, demands absolute allegiance over all of life, and transforms the human heart from the inside out. When measured against the SUPREME standard, Christianity reveals itself not merely as one choice among many, but as the distinct, verified revelation of the Creator Himself. It is a faith built on an empty tomb, designed to satisfy the human soul for eternity.

Who rules our lives matters everything to God, our creator. To turn our backs on him and his Son is very serious indeed. If they are not the focus of our life, something or someone else will be and God can see into our hearts. He has given us abundant evidence that there is a faith that comes from him. It is he who will be a eternal judge and we do not have that many years to turn around and start living for him.

BVP

This article has been posted on the website www.bvpalmer.com where there are many other helpful articles and videos.

Christchurch Baldock is a Bible teaching gospel centred local church.  More details can be found on its website.  It meets every Sunday morning at 10.30 am in Knights Templar School, Baldock

Bernard can be contacted at berniepalmer1@sky.com

Decision Time

President Zelensky was facing a horrendous dilemma..  The powerful President Trump had presented Ukraine with an ultimatum.  Accept my proposal for a peace deal with Russia or face life without the support of the United States.  Yet his proposal certainly supports the aggressor, Russia, in that even more land would be ceded to Russian that they have captured so far, demands a reduction of the size of the army and refuses them the right to join NATO.  There is no commitment from Russia never to invade again.  The people of Ukraine he leads overwhelmingly reject this proposal yet they do long for peace, they feel it is not right that the aggressor is rewarded.  They feel they are being bullied. The President of the USA is so powerful and he would love to be known as a peacemaker..  To reject his proposal would result in losing American logistical and military support.  What should control his decision?

Many young people long to be accepted by their friends.  This pressure can compel people to behave in ways they know to be wrong in order to be accepted.  What should control their decision?

The pressure of wanting what others have can lead people to do what is wrong.  National advertising is very powerful and can lead people to crave what that they cannot afford.  This can lead to getting into debt or even to stealing.  What should control their decision?

Such pressures on people can be immense.  

‍ ‍

Decision time for Jesus

Jesus was under immense pressure from the Jewish authorities to deny that he was God’s Messiah.  His refusal to do so led to his death by crucifixion, one of the cruelest ways to die.  What principal led him take this stance?

Decision time for the Apostles

The apostles, Peter and John had then been arrested by the Jewish authorities because they had been promoting Jesus, saying that he had risen from the dead after being executed and that he is God’s chosen eternal king, the Messiah.  They were forbidden to speak any more in the name of Jesus.  They refused:

“We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

That is what they boldly.continued to do in spite of all the apostles being arrested.  The authorities were asked:

“Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.  But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges!  As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:18-20

What helped them decide?  They dared to disobey the highest court in the land because they were under a yet higher authority.  God and the truth about Jesus really does matter.  They had been commissioned to share this news and the evidence that it was true.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Mathew 28:18-21

The Answer is found in an over-riding fear of the Lord

How we crave for wisdom when facing seemingly impossible decisions.  The Bible is clear about how to find this peace and wisdom:

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10

Decisions are only correct when the data they are based on is reliable.  Most young people choose a career depending on people they have met or read about and much less on how their attributes fit in with the choice.  Choosing friends or spouses can rely on pressures exerted on us.  It is significant that girls who have learned how to flirt find it easier to find a boyfriend.

Yet when people have a foundation of thinking that pleasing God matters more than anything else, they will find that subsequent thinking about how to act becomes clearer.  Clear dispassionate thinking enables there right use of our passions but woe betide people who allow their passions to rule, rational thinking then becomes sidelined.

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who. . .  made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.” Philippians 2:5-9

Godly wisdom will think what Jesus would do in this situation.

The time is coming when Christians will need to be so steeped in God’s word that we will stand boldly for Christ when the pressures come.

BVP

Will everyone be saved?

Some theologians, throughout the history of the church, have argued that the God of Love will save everyone, that all human beings will be restored to a right relationship with God. This is called ‘universalism’. Today there are many who suggest that all religions are essentially the same.  The Baháʼí temple near Chicago is a nine-sided structure with nine doors that symbolise the Baháʼí belief in the unity of all religions. The temple is designed to be a place of worship for people of all backgrounds and religions.

Even some who would call themselves Evangelicals, seem to accept this position. A popular idea is that of ‘the Anonymous Christian’. Its proponents insist that Christ is the Saviour of the whole world. Non-Christians therefore can receive salvation through faithfully practising the rites of their own religions and being good moral people, even though they have no interest in Christ.

In 1967, Jim Packer wrote, 

“Over the past century, the status of this belief has advanced from that of an idiosyncrasy to that of a respectable theological option, favoured by many leading scholars and it continues to make great strides throughout the protestant world”.

More recently, the Evangelical Alliance in their report ‘The Nature of Hell’  (David Hilborn ed. Paternoster Press, 2000) concluded:

“. . . in an increasingly multicultural, pluralistic society, the universalism which now underlies most forms of liberal Christianity is likely to present an even greater challenge for evangelicals”.

There is a real danger that a creeping universalism is impacting the evangelical church.  

This way of thinking is helped by a viewpoint which argues that the number one rule is 

‘Do not offend people.’ 

The Biblical view of the God who deals with sin, with hell awaiting the unrepentant sinner, is deeply offensive to many people. We want to be known as such nice people, not wanting to upset anyone, and therefore we remain silent on these crucial issues. It will not be long before some form of this doctrine becomes acceptable in many of our fellowships?

A second concern we might call ‘practical universalism’. Many say they believe that Jesus is the only way to God and people need to hear this good news, but their lives show little indication that they believe this.

One study by Lifeway Research (2012) surveyed adults attending a Protestant church at least once a month. It revealed:

80% felt a personal responsibility to share their faith.

61% had not told another person how to become a Christian in the past six months.

A later 2019 Lifeway survey found similar results, with 55% of monthly Protestant churchgoers saying they had not shared their faith in the last six months.

Research by Barna (2018) showed a significant long-term decline in the percentage of Christians who feel a personal responsibility to share their faith.  In 1993, 89% of Christians felt this responsibility.  By 2018, that number had dropped to just 64%.

What is even more troubling is that a 2019 Barna study also showed that almost half of practicing millennial Christians felt that evangelism was wrong. Many church programmes fulfil a real social role but are they the programmes where people learn that they must turn to Jesus Christ in repentance and genuine faith if they are to be saved by God for eternity?

A third concern is the impact this growing belief is having on Christian overseas and cross-cultural mission. Our primary motive for mission is that we want to see people from every tribe, tongue and nation worshipping God. Belief in the lostness of the lost has always been a great mission motivator. Where and when that conviction is questioned, it is not long before the fire of mission burns low. 

In Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul describes people outside of Christ. He begins by saying such people are:

“. . . dead in transgressions and sins” Ephesians 2:1

The bible is clear, people outside of Christ are spiritually dead. There is as much chance of a person outside of Christ doing anything for his or her salvation as there is of a corpse jumping to life. This is where religions and most systems, which look for salvation for people in other ways than through personal faith in Christ, fall tragically short. They fail to appreciate the depravity of humanity, failing to see that, left to themselves, people will not seek for God and that unless God gives them life, they have no hope. Scripture clearly teaches that God has chosen to give life only through Jesus Christ. Paul goes further. He writes, 

“Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath” Ephesians 1:3

Paul is saying that all people are born in sin and they are by nature, not just by practice but by nature, objects of wrath. It is a desperate picture for humanity. Outside of Christ, people are dead, without hope, and by nature and practice they come under the threat of God’s wrath. This statement is about humanity in general, people worldwide; Paul gives no exceptions.

Our primary motive for mission is that we want to see people from every tribe, tongue and nation worshipping God.

In the first three chapters of Romans. Paul is addressing, among other things, the question, 

“What happens to those who haven’t heard of Christ and His salvation?” 

His answer is that they will not be judged for rejecting the gospel they have not heard. People will be judged according to the light they have received. Light or understanding comes to us in several ways. The creation of our world and of people cannot have happened without a designer and creator. Paul argues:

 “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse’” Romans 1:20

Our consciences also point us to our need for forgiveness: 

“They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.” Romans 2:15

There is a sense of right and wrong that all people experience through the operation of their conscience:

“God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ”. Romans 2:16

Paul then turns to the religious Jew who has the law, circumcision and all the other things that accompany his religious devotion. Look how Paul lays out his argument at the end of this section: 

“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away” Romans 3:10‐12

Everyone will be judged according to the light they have received. The light for some is creation and conscience, and for others it is centuries of religious tradition and considerable religious knowledge, but Paul’s conclusion is plain: no one lives according to light they have received – 

“. . . there is no one righteous’” Romans 3:10

A righteousness from God therefore, apart from the law (v21), is essential if anyone is ever to be saved. Wherever could such a righteousness be found? The wonderful news of the gospel is that, 

“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” Romans 3:22

That’s why Jesus said, 

“No man comes to the Father but by me” John 14.6

It’s why Peter proclaimed, 

‘Neither is there salvation in any other’ Acts 4:12

Jesus is that righteousness and those who turn to him are regarded by God as having the righteousness of Christ.   Religion can give us rules for living, many of which are similar in all societies.  

I was invited to a radio discussion looking at the morality of different faiths.  A Muslim, a Jew, a Sikh and myself as a Christian.  All these faiths encouraged love, honesty, family values and the like.  What differed was that the others thought this was how we can satisfy God.  This is why Christianity is not a religion.  Man cannot ‘re-ligate’ ourselves back to God by our behaviour.  We all need a Saviour.  Righteousness that cannot be found in religious practices or by following a religious leader. It is only found in Jesus.

But there are some who say, 

‘I agree – I’m with you all the way, but can’t people receive that righteousness without realising it’ 

Are there ‘Anonymous Christians’. The whole emphasis of Scripture is that saving faith is faith in a person. It’s not faith in the religion of Christ but in Christ Himself that saves. How can people sustain from the Bible the idea that people can come to salvation through religions without any knowledge of the person of Christ?  In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said to some gifted religious leaders:

“Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me you evil doers’” Matthew 7:23

Other Scripture passages teach the necessity of hearing the message of Christ: 

“Whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned” John 5:24

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” Romans 10:9

Paul asks four vital questions in Romans 10. After the great gospel statement that, 

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:13

Paul asks us all:

1. How then can they call on the one they have not believed in?

2. How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?

3. How can they hear without someone preaching to them?

4. How can they preach unless they are sent?

These questions leave little room for any idea of Anonymous Christians! These four great questions of Paul confirm conviction in the lostness of the lost, and the reality of salvation through a personal response to the person and work of Christ. They also teach much more than that, they impact our lives, affecting the way we spend our time and money, the content of our prayer lives, the programmes of our churches and the strategy of our mission involvement.

How do I know if I am forgiven?

When Peter gave his first sermon at Pentecost many people realised the they had made a terrible mistake in rejecting Jesus, God’s Messiah.

“When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’” Acts 2:37

Peter replied,

“Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2:38-39

Note there are four actions here, two we must make and two actions that God has promised to do for us.  We have to make a positive decision.  We have grasped the fact that Jesus is God’s Messiah, the Christ, who has entered his world so we must turn to him and accept him into our lives as our Lord.  This is not optional, all people are commanded by God to make this decision, based on all the evidence.  The result of this will be that we want others to know about this decision.  When a couple get engaged  it is inevitable that they will want to share the news, so it is with those who become Christians.  Then comes the marriage ceremony when the new relationship is sealed.  So it is for new Christians, they will want to formalise this new relationship - hence baptism.

When we take these actions God has promised he will give us two great gifts.  The first is a complete forgiveness of all our sins, the sins that separated us from God.  We are clothed in His righteousness and are therefore will be acceptable to join him in heaven when we die.  The second gift is that of the Holy Spirit.  Paul made it clear that we receive all of God’s Spirit when we first repent and turn to Christ, although our experience of him may come and go. 

“I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Galatians 3:2

Peter, at the end of his first sermon, was in earnest, this decision will affect peoples’ destiny both in this life and the next.  God’s salvation really does matter.

“With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”Those who accepted his message were baptised, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” Acts 2:40-41

We can enjoy his presence with us now and we are enabled to start living a new Christ-centred life.  When Peter was addressing the Gentiles in Cornelius’ home he said:

“All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.” Acts 10:43-44

John the Baptist’s message

John the Baptist prophesied that this was God’s message.  This is what he said:

“I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” .  .  .“I baptise with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know.He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” . . .

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptising with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

Then John gave this testimony: 

“I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptise with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptise with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, 

“Look, the Lamb of God!”

When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.” John 1:23-37

This passage is remarkable as both aspects of the gospel are emphasised.  Jesus, through his sacrificial death did take away our sins.  This offer is available to everyone in the world.  However he then baptises all his people with the Holy Spirit of God to enable us to live a very different Christ-focused life.

Paul’s message

Paul also summarised this double aspect of the gospel of salvation:

“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:5

When I was a child the only aspect of the gospel I understood was that Jesus dies to wash away my sins.  I had not grasped that it also involved the gift of God’s Spirit that would result in my living a life for God.

We can know we have been saved because we have made those two steps and we begin to experience the freedom of a clear conscience and want to live in a way that pleases the Lord..  this is the work of the Spirit.  Paul was later clear,

“And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” Romans 8:9-11

Who will be saved?

The evidence that a person is born again, is a Christian, is not a past experience but an ongoing desire to live in and for Jesus Christ.

The Scriptures repeatedly remind us that it is the continuing in christ that is the mark of a Christian.

“By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:2

“But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation - if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.” Colossians 1:22

“And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.” Hebrews 3:6

“We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.“ Hebrews 3:14

The ‘if’ is important, - it is not a formal admission to the church through baptism or confirmation or even ordination that saves a person, it is the continual desire to live for Jesus that is the proof that God’s Spirit is in us. 

In John’s letters to the seven churches he repeatedly reminds them that it is not the start of the race that matters but the finish:

“To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life.” Revelation 2:7

“The one who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.” Revelation 2:10

Those who overcome, who are victorious, are those who keep living with Jesus to they die:

“To the one who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations . . . “ Revelation 2:26

“The one who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.” Revelation 3:5

“The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.” Revelation 3:12

“To the one who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.” Revelation 3:21

What wonderful promises God has given to those who have his Spirit and continue to the end.

It is only those who continue in the faith, who hold firmly to Christ, keep our confidence in him and our convictions about him that will experience heaven:

“Those who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.” Revelation 21:7

The Last Supper and Communion

From early on in his ministry Jesus reinforce ed the teaching of John the Baptist.  He emphasised that God’s message centred on himself.  After feeding the five thousand he said to the crowds,

“Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” John 6:27

“The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” John 6:29

The people ask him for this ‘bread’ and Jesus explains a little of what he means.  The bread of life is both food and drink:

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.” John 6:35-36

Jesus is moving them on from thinking about the five loaves and two small fish that fed them all to what god’s real message is all about.  All people must come to believe in him, for that is the doorway to eternal life and Jesus gives us this great promise:

“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” John 6:40

They still do not understand the way he is talking:

““How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” John 6:52

He then returns to the means by which he will give forgiveness and a new eternal life to those people who believe in him.  He is alluding to his future death on that cross:

“Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” John 6:53-54

This is not referring to communion services but to his death.  He is talking about his atoning sacrificial death, his blood shed for people, and his body on the cross which is the means by which people are changed by the Spirit.

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.” John 6:50

The disciples were perplexed at this time.  Only later were they to understand the significance of ‘the blood’ and ‘the body’ they needed.

“On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” John 6:60

Jesus then gives them some understanding, he is talking in parables but he is talking about taking what he is going to do for them into their inner beings.  It is not physical food and drink he demands, he is not asking them to be cannibals!

“The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit[e] and life.Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” John 6:63-64

The faith Jesus says we need is deeply personal.  This is why becoming a christian is compared to getting married.  He is certainly not talking about receiving communion.  Jesus later introduced this idea at his last Passover feast with the disciples to teach the same lesson. Jesus wants us to depend on his blood and the image of his dying for them on that cross.  It s highly significant that John does not even mention the Last Supper and the introduction of communion, but he repeatedly stresses that God wants us to be dependant on him, to feed on him, throughout his book.

When Jesus asks his followers to remember what he has done for them he tells them to use the two symbols of bread and wine but says that their benefit will come when these are used to remember what Jesus did for them.  

The blood is for the forgiveness of our sins, just as the Old Testament sacrifices emphasised sacrificial blood for atonement.  The bread represent this body that we are to remember hanging on that cross.  It is this remembrance that will remind us to go on serving him sacrificially for the rest of our lives.

BVP

Will everyone be saved?* 

Some theologians, throughout the history of the church, have argued that the God of Love will save everyone, that all human beings will be restored to a right relationship with God.

This is called ‘universalism’. Today there are many who suggest that all religions are essentially the same.  The Baháʼí temple near Chicago is a nine-sided structure with nine doors that symbolise the Baháʼí belief in the unity of all religions. The temple is designed to be a place of worship for people of all backgrounds and religions.

Even some who would call themselves Evangelicals, seem to accept this position. A popular idea is that of ‘the Anonymous Christian’. Its proponents insist that Christ is the Saviour of the whole world. Non-Christians therefore can receive salvation through faithfully practising the rites of their own religions and being good moral people, even though they have no interest in Christ.

In 1967, Jim Packer wrote, 

“Over the past century, the status of this belief has advanced from that of an idiosyncrasy to that of a respectable theological option, favoured by many leading scholars and it continues to make great strides throughout the protestant world”.

More recently, the Evangelical Alliance in their report ‘The Nature of Hell’  (David Hilborn ed. Paternoster Press, 2000) concluded:

“. . . in an increasingly multicultural, pluralistic society, the universalism which now underlies most forms of liberal Christianity is likely to present an even greater challenge for evangelicals”.

There is a real danger that a creeping universalism is impacting the evangelical church.  

This way of thinking is helped by a viewpoint which argues that the number one rule is 

‘Do not offend people.’ 

The Biblical view of the God who deals with sin, with hell awaiting the unrepentant sinner, is deeply offensive to many people. We want to be known as such nice people, not wanting to upset anyone, and therefore we remain silent on these crucial issues. It will not be long before some form of this doctrine becomes acceptable in many of our fellowships?

A second concern we might call ‘practical universalism’. Many say they believe that Jesus is the only way to God and people need to hear this good news, but their lives show little indication that they believe this.

One study by Lifeway Research (2012) surveyed adults attending a Protestant church at least once a month. It revealed:

80% felt a personal responsibility to share their faith.

61% had not told another person how to become a Christian in the past six months.

A later 2019 Lifeway survey found similar results, with 55% of monthly Protestant churchgoers saying they had not shared their faith in the last six months.

Research by Barna (2018) showed a significant long-term decline in the percentage of Christians who feel a personal responsibility to share their faith.  In 1993, 89% of Christians felt this responsibility.  By 2018, that number had dropped to just 64%.

What is even more troubling is that a 2019 Barna study also showed that almost half of practicing millennial Christians felt that evangelism was wrong. Many church programmes fulfil a real social role but are they the programmes where people learn that they must turn to Jesus Christ in repentance and genuine faith if they are to be saved by God for eternity?

A third concern is the impact this growing belief is having on Christian overseas and cross-cultural mission. Our primary motive for mission is that we want to see people from every tribe, tongue and nation worshipping God. Belief in the lostness of the lost has always been a great mission motivator. Where and when that conviction is questioned, it is not long before the fire of mission burns low. 

In Ephesians 2:1-3, Paul describes people outside of Christ. He begins by saying such people are:

“. . . dead in transgressions and sins” Ephesians 2:1

People outside of Christ are spiritually dead. There is as much chance of a person outside of Christ doing anything for his or her salvation as there is of a corpse jumping to life. This is where religions and most systems, which look for salvation for people in other ways than through personal faith in Christ, fall tragically short. They fail to appreciate the depravity of humanity, failing to see that, left to themselves, people will not seek for God and that unless God gives them life, they have no hope. Scripture clearly teaches that God has chosen to give life only through Jesus Christ. Paul goes further. He writes, 

“Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath” Ephesians 1:3

Paul is saying that all people are born in sin and they are by nature, not just by practice but by nature, objects of wrath. It is a desperate picture for humanity. Outside of Christ, people are dead, without hope, and by nature and practice they come under the threat of God’s wrath. This statement is about humanity in general, people worldwide; Paul gives no exceptions.

Our primary motive for mission is that we want to see people from every tribe, tongue and nation worshipping God.

In the first three chapters of Romans. Paul is addressing, among other things, the question, 

“What happens to those who haven’t heard of Christ and His salvation?” 

His answer is that they will not be judged for rejecting the gospel they have not heard. People will be judged according to the light they have received. Light or understanding comes to us in several ways. The creation of our world and of people cannot have happened without a designer and creator.. Paul argues:

 “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse’” Romans 1:20

Our consciences also point us to our need for forgiveness: 

“They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.” Romans 2:15

There is a sense of right and wrong that all people experience through the operation of their conscience:

“God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ”. Romans 2:16

Paul then turns to the religious Jew who has the law, circumcision and all the other things that accompany his religious devotion. Look how Paul lays out his argument at the end of this section: 

“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away” Romans 3:10‐12

Everyone will be judged according to the light they have received. The light for some is creation and conscience, and for others it is centuries of religious tradition and considerable religious knowledge, but Paul’s conclusion is plain: no one lives according to light they have received – 

“. . . there is no one righteous’” Romans 3:10

A righteousness from God therefore, apart from the law (v21), is essential if anyone is ever to be saved. Wherever could such a righteousness be found? The wonderful news of the gospel is that, 

“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” Romans 3:22

That’s why Jesus said, 

“No man comes to the Father but by me” John 14.6

It’s why Peter proclaimed, 

‘Neither is there salvation in any other’ Acts 4:12

Jesus is that righteousness and those who turn to him are regarded by God as having the righteousness of Christ.   Religion can give us rules for living, many of which are similar in all societies.  

I was invited to a radio discussion looking at the morality of different faiths.  A Muslim, a Jew, a Sikh and myself as a Christian.  All these faiths encouraged love, honesty, family values and the like.  What differed was that the others thought this was how we can satisfy God.  This is why Christianity is not a religion.  Man cannot ‘re-ligate’ ourselves back to God by our behaviour.  We all need a Saviour.  Righteousness that cannot be found in religious practices or by following a religious leader. It is only found in Jesus.

But there are some who say, 

‘I agree – I’m with you all the way, but can’t people receive that righteousness without realising it’ 

Are there ‘Anonymous Christians’. The whole emphasis of Scripture is that saving faith is faith in a person. It’s not faith in the religion of Christ but in Christ Himself that saves. How can people sustain from the Bible the idea that people can come to salvation through religions without any knowledge of the person of Christ?  In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said to some gifted religious leaders:

“Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me you evil doers’” Matthew 7:23

Other Scripture passages teach the necessity of hearing the message of Christ: 

“Whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned” John 5:24

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” Romans 10:9

Paul asks four vital questions in Romans 10. After the great gospel statement that, 

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:13

Paul asks us all:

1. How then can they call on the one they have not believed in?

2. How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?

3. How can they hear without someone preaching to them?

4. How can they preach unless they are sent?

These questions leave little room for any idea of Anonymous Christians! These four great questions of Paul confirm conviction in the lostness of the lost, and the reality of salvation through a personal response to the person and work of Christ. They also teach much more than that, they impact our lives, affecting the way we spend our time and money, the content of our prayer lives, the programmes of our churches and the strategy of our mission involvement.

How do I know if I am forgiven?

When Peter gave his first sermon at Pentecost many people realised the they had made a terrible mistake in rejecting Jesus, God’s Messiah.

“When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’” Acts 2:37

Peter replied,

“Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2:38-39

Note there are four actions here, two we must make and two actions that God has promised to do for us.  We have to make a positive decision.  We have grasped the fact that Jesus is God’s Messiah, the Christ, who has entered his world so we must turn to him and accept him into our lives as our Lord.  This is not optional, all people are commanded by God to make this decision, based on all the evidence.  The result of this will be that we want others to know about this decision.  When a couple get engaged  it is inevitable that they will want to share the news, so it is with those who become Christians.  Then comes the marriage ceremony when the new relationship is sealed.  So it is for new Christians, they will want to formalise this new relationship - hence baptism.

When we take these actions God has promised he will give us two great gifts.  The first is a complete forgiveness of all our sins, the sins that separated us from God.  We are clothed in His righteousness and are therefore will be acceptable to join him in heaven when we die.  The second gift is that of the Holy Spirit.  Paul made it clear that we receive all of God’s Spirit when we first repent and turn to Christ, although our experience of him may come and go. 

“I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Galatians 3:2

Peter was in earnest, this decision will affect peoples’ destiny both in this life and the next.  God’s salvation really does matter.

“With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”Those who accepted his message were baptised, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” Acts 2:40-41

We can enjoy his presence with us now and we are enabled to start living a new Christ-centred life.  When Peter was addressing the Gentiles in Cornelius’ home he said:

“All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.” Acts 10:43-44

John the Baptist’s message

John the Baptist prophesied that this was God’s message.  This is what he said:

“I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” .  .  .

“I baptise with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know.He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” . . .

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptising with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

Then John gave this testimony: 

“I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptise with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptise with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, 

“Look, the Lamb of God!”

When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.” John 1:23-37s

This passage is remarkable as both aspects of the gospel are emphasised.  Jesus, through his sacrificial death did take away our sins.  This offer is available to everyone in the world.  However he then baptises all his people with the Holy Spirit of God to enable us to live a very different Christ-focused life.

Paul’s message

Paul also summarised this double aspect of the gospel of salvation:

“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:5

When I was a child the only aspect of the gospel I understood was that Jesus dies to wash away my sins.  I had not grasped that it also involved the gift of God’s Spirit that would result in  my living a life for God.

We can know we have been saved because we have made those two steps and we begin to experience the freedom of a clear conscience and want to live in a way that pleases the Lord..  this is the work of the Spirit.  Paul was later clear,

“And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” Romans 8:9-11

Who will be saved

The evidence that a person is born again, is a Christian, is not a past experience but an ongoing desire to live in and for Jesus Christ.

The scriptures repeatedly remind us that it is the continuing in christ that is the mark of a Christian.

“By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:2

“But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation - if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.” Colossians 1:22

“And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.” Hebrews 3:6

“We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.“ Hebrews 3:14

The ‘if’ is important, - it is not a formal admission to the church through baptism or confirmation or even ordination that saves a person, it is the continual desire to live for Jesus that is the proof that God’s Spirit is in us. 

In John’s letters to the seven churches he repeatedly reminds them that it is not the start of the race that matters but the finish:

“To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life.: Revelation 2:7

“The one who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.” Revelation 2:10

Those who overcome, who are victorious, are those who keep living with Jesus to they die:

“To the one who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations . . . “ Revelation 2:26

“The one who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.” Revelation 3:5

“The one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.” Revelation 3:12

“To the one who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.” Revelation 3:21

What wonderful promises God has given to those who have his Spirit and continue to the end.

It is only those who continue in the faith, who hold firmly to Christ, keep our confidence in him and our convictions about him that will experience heaven:

“Those who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.” Revelation 21:7

The Last Supper and Communion

From early on in his ministry Jesus reinforce ed the teaching of John the Baptist.  He emphasised that God’s message centred on himself.  After feeding the five thousand he said to the crowds,

“Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” John 6:27

“The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” John 6:29

The people ask him for this ‘bread’ and Jesus explains a little of what he means.  The bread of life is both food and drink:

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.” John 6:35-36

Jesus is moving them on from thinking about the five loaves and two small fish that fed them all to what god’s real message is all about.  All people must come to believe in him, for that is the doorway to eternal life and Jesus gives us this great promise:

“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” John 6:40

They still do not understand the way he is talking:

““How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” John 6:52

He then returns to the means by which he will give forgiveness and a new eternal life to those people who believe in him.  He is alluding to his future death on that cross:

“Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” John 6:53-54

This is not referring to communion services but to his death.  He is talking about his atoning sacrificial death, his blood shed for people, and his body on the cross which is the means by which people are changed by the Spirit.

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.” John 6:50

The disciples were perplexed at this time.  Only later were they to understand the significance of ‘the blood’ and ‘the body’ they needed.

“On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” John 6:60

Jesus then gives them some understanding, he is talking in parables but he is talking about taking what he is going to do for them into their inner beings.  It is not physical food and drink he demands, he is not asking them to be cannibals!

“The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit[e] and life.Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” John 6:63-64

The faith Jesus says we need is deeply personal.  This is why becoming a christian is compared to getting married.  He is certainly not talking about receiving communion.  Jesus later introduced this idea at his last Passover feast with the disciples to teach the same lesson.  Jesus wants us to depend on his blood and the image of his dying for them on that cross.  It s highly significant that John does not even mention the Last Supper and the introduction of communion, but he repeatedly stresses that God wants us to be dependant on him, to feed on him, throughout his book.

When Jesus asks his followers to remember what he has done for them he tells them to use the two symbols of bread and wine but says that their benefit will come when these are used to remember what Jesus did for them.  

The blood is for the forgiveness of our sins, just as the Old Testament sacrifices emphasised sacrificial blood for atonement.  The bread represent this body that we are to remember hanging on that cross.  It is this remembrance that will remind us to go on serving him sacrificially for the rest of our lives.

What is Genuine Christianity?

On a dog walk a pleasant retired pilot explained that he was a Roman Catholic but then added that he is no longer involved now.  Is that Christian?  

Jesus’ answer

Jesus had some strong words about who qualifies for heaven and who are his people.  He had just asked his disciples who others think he is, but then he asked directly:

“But what about you? . . . Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” Mark 8:29

Peter’s doctrine of Jesus being God’s Messiah was correct, but that was all that he had right.  So Jesus explained to his disciples what being the Messiah would mean.  He would die on a cross and would be the ultimate sacrifice for people’s sin.  His death would be what all the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament looked forward to.  They were only pictures or models of the ultimate reality:

“He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 

He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.” Mark 8:31-32

How dare Peter disagree with Jesus, the Son of God?  No wonder Jesus was furious. See what he calls Peter:

“But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Mark 8:31-33

Peter was wrong because he was still thinking in terms of worldly success.  Jesus wants all his people to think in eternal terms.  He now turns to all the crowds, as well as his disciples, to make a fundamental statement.  His followers must no longer think in worldly terms but share his way of thinking.

“Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” Mark 8:34-35  

This is a very radical perspective.  Our life on this earth should be taken up with living for Christ.  This does not mean that most people should give up their jobs and forsake marriages to be full time religious types!  No we are to conduct our business and home lives under the authority of Jesus.  Living for Christ is what is true Christians do because we understand what really matters:

“What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? Mark 8:36-37

Success in this world will mean nothing if we are not acceptable to God.  Jesus then again reminds people how any one can become acceptable to god, but taking who Jesus is and what he has said very seriously indeed.  How can there be a non-practising Christian.  Jesus is saying that being one of God’s people involves taking him and what he teaches seriously. God’s teaching to all humanity is given to us in Scripture:

“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” Mark 8:34-38

What an awful fate it will be, to be told by God, “I do not know you, depart from me.”  Jesus has warned that there will be many religious people who hope that their religion will save them.  It won’t, only a personal relationship with Jesus as my Lord and my Saviour will do that. 

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Matthew 7:21-23

Jesus repeatedly warns us all that we must make choices and not drift with the crowd.  Only those who are open about their commitment to Jesus are acceptable to him.  The need for such a commitment is high, our acceptance by God will be affected. 

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:32-33

Those who keep quiet about their being followers of Jesus and the Bible, His word to the world are not living as God wants,

“Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” Luke 9:26

Chuck Colson was President Nixon’s ‘hatchet man’, who was imprisoned because of his involvement in the Watergate affair.  He committed his life to Christ shortly before going to prison and he became  deeply committed co-worker.  He later wrote:

“Genuine Christianity is more than a relationship with Jesus, as expressed in personal piety, church attendance, Bible study and works of charity.  It is more than discipleship, more than believing a system of doctrines about God.  Genuine Christianity is a way of seeing and comprehending all reality.  It is a worldview.”

Paul’s answer

Paul similarly sees that being in Christ involves being a completely new person.  A Christian’s life now revolves around living for God, both in the way we live and in what we say to others.  A person who has grasped the immensity of what it means to be forgiven our sin, our rebellion against God and to have a secure future in God’s family will inevitably want to share this with others.  So Paul w rote:

“Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others.” 2 Corinthians 5:11

Paul underlying thinking is that God sees exactly what we are and how we think and something about our priorities will also be apparent to others.The purpose of being godly in the way we live is not primarily to be impressive and to gain a good reputation but it is now a simple desire to please God.  It is our hearts that God can see.

“What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.”2 Corinthians 5:11-12

Investing in the next world may seem very strange, or even mad, to those who have not grasped what really matters.  Christians respond to the love God has shown us in Christ.  He gave up his life for a while and he calls on us to follow his example:

“If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” 2 Corinthians 5:13-15

So being a Christian is a radical new way of thinking and living.  This is not just for the ‘super-spiritual’, it is for every christian.  So Paul can write:

“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 

Is this an extreme way of thinking invented by some religious enthusiast? ‘No’, Paul says, this is the way God wants us all to think so this message needs to be shared.  Jesus has put us right with God so nothing should be too great in our response.

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.” 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

This message of the grace and love of God for all people needs to be widely shared.  What a tragedy it is that in many 21st century churches this urgency has been lost:

“And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” 2 Corinthians 5:20

So what is the churches message and what should we be saying to people we meet?  Paul summarises our message with his usual passion:

“We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20-21

Paul goes on to encourage the Christians in Corinth to regard themselves as fellow-workers in this world for Christ and to start living this ‘new creation’ right away’.

“As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.For he says,

“In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” 

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:1-2

Paul illustrates this appeal by explaining what it had meant for him.  What he was teaching was the way he lived - he was a genuine pastor:  His overriding ambition was to bring people to know Jesus Christ.

“We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses;in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger;in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love;in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;through glory and dishonour, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors;known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed;sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” 2 Corinthians 6:3-10

This is a single-minded lifestyle that Paul, like his Master urges us all to follow.  It is no surprise that he next reminds Christians that those who we are closest to will distract us from this ministry:

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.” 2 Corinthians 6:14.

Paul repeats the teaching of Jesus that true Christians will openly talk about the one they are committed to, the Lord Jesus.  What we say about Jesus indicates what we really believe:

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10

A New Way of Thinking , we are Fellow-Workers with Christ

Christians are often called ‘fellow-workers’ (Greek: sunergoi) or coworkers with God, Christ and each other primarily in the New Testament, highlighting a partnership in ministry and in the spreading of the gospel and by encouraging others to keep living for Christ.

“For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building”. 1 Corinthians 3:9

“Working together with him [God], then, we appeal to you…". 2 Corinthians 6:1

Paul calls Priscilla, Aquila, Urbanus, and Timothy his ‘fellow workers in Christ Jesus’. Romans 16:3, 9, 21

Epaphroditus is described as a "brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier". Philippians 2:25:

Clement and other coworkers whose names are in the book of life. Philippians 4:3‍ ‍

Paul calls Philemon, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke his fellow workers. Philemon 1:1, 24‍ ‍

John encourages all Christians to be "fellow workers for the truth” by being hospitable:

“We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.”. 3 John 1:8

The Greek word for ‘fellow-workers’, ‘sunergoi’, implies a cooperative, team-oriented effort in the kingdom of God, rather than working alone. 

With this understanding, every Christian must see themselves as missionaries, sent out into the world for Christ. Adoniram Judson (1788–1850) was a pioneering American Baptist missionary who spent nearly 40 years in Burma (Myanmar). As one of the first missionaries sent from the U.S., he translated the Bible into Burmese, compiled a dictionary, and established a enduring Christian church, despite suffering imprisonment and personal loss.  He said that the motto of every Christian, whether preacher, printer or schoolmaster ought to be 

“Devoted for life.”

The great discovery of the sixteenth century monk, Martin Luther, was just this, that even his fastidious religious behaviour, fasting and confession could never make him good enough for God but the good news is that when we are committed to living for Christ, we are credited with Christ’s righteousness.  This was the passage that brought Luther this understanding:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” Romans 1:16-17

Paul had discovered this same truth so elsewhere he could write:

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me.” Philippians 1:21-22

Henry Varley, was a British evangelist who had befriended the young American evangelist D.L.Moody when he visited Dublin.  He recalled that in 1873 Moody asked him to recount what they had spoken in private conversation a year earlier, just before Moody’s return to the United States. Varley provides this account:

“During the afternoon of the day of conference Mr. Moody asked me to join him in the vestry of the Baptist Church. We were alone, and he recalled the night’s meeting at Willow Park and our converse the following morning.”

“Do you remember your words?” he said.

“I well remember our interview, but I do not recall any special utterance.” I replied.

“Don’t you remember saying, ‘Moody, the world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to him?’ ”

“Not the actual sentence,” I replied.

“Ah,” said Mr. Moody, “those were the words sent to my soul, through you, from the Living God. As I crossed the wide Atlantic, the boards of the deck of the vessel were engraved with them, and when I reached Chicago, the very paving stones seemed marked with ‘Moody, the world has yet to see what God will do with a man fully consecrated to him.’ Under the power of those words I have come back to England, and I felt that I must not let more time pass until I let you know how God had used your words to my inmost soul.”

Where are such gifted people who are willing to devote their relatively short lives here on earth to help others to walk with God?  Where are the people of God, who will live like Ezra?

“For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.” Ezra 7:10

Later, D.L.Moody, by then the great American preacher, was on a mission in England.  He was asked to meet a church leader from Ireland.  Moody asked his host about him,

“Is he O and O?”

“What do you mean?” his host asked.

“Is he Out and Out for Jesus?”

What a great question for us to ask, first of ourselves and then of the people in our churches.  It really does matter if the Lord is to be with us.  Church elders and ministers must have a longing for people to find Christ and then live for him:

“Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ”. Colossians 1:27-28

Churches will always suffer if they appoint elders or staff who do not clearly have this obvious love for the Lord Jesus and a longing that others may both find him for themselves and then mature in his service.

Jackie Pullinger was raised in a Christian family in Croydon and attended Sunday School, but she experienced a significant spiritual renewal in 1965. This happened while she was an oboe student at the Royal College of Music.  I got to know her when she came St. Helen’s church in Bishopsgate having felt a strong calling to missionary work. She famously described being ‘caught up in the joy and surprise of being loved by Jesus’ during this time.. Her classic autobiography ‘Chasing the Dragon’ remains a best-seller, despite being released more than 30 years ago. It tells the story of how a plucky young 22 year old woman boarded a ship with nothing but a £10 note, a one way ticket and a prayer that God would show her where to get off. When the boat pulled into Hong Kong in 1966, she disembarked and her missionary life began. Kowloon Walled City was a lawless slum full of opium dens, pornographic film theatres and triads who profited from crime and prostitution. It was in this place of darkness that Pullinger’s life of service began. As she got to work, loving the unlovable, God showed up. Heroin users would pray and find themselves released from their addiction. Crime bosses surrendered their lives to Jesus. Prostitutes quit. In one sense, little has changed in the decades that have followed. The Walled City might have been demolished and replaced with a park in the mid-1990s, but Pullinger’s work among Hong Kong’s poorest continues to this day through the organisation she founded, St Stephen’s Society.

Let us remind each other what Jesus and his apostles say are the marks of a true faith. We must get involved and not just be critical of the way others behave.. No one is impressed with the won-lost record of the referee. 

In many countries in the world, Christians are tested by hardship, but in the West we are tested by freedom and testing by freedom is much harder. Nobody pressures you about your religion so you relax and are not so concentrated on Christ, on His teaching, or how He wants you to live. Is this not why so many Western churches are so weak?

BVP

Christchurch Baldock is a Bible teaching gospel centred local church.  More details can be found on its website.  It meets every Sunday morning at 10.30 am in Knights Templar School, Baldock

Bernard can be contacted at berniepalmer1@sky.com

The Easter Message

The Bible is very clear, mankind cannot ever behave in a way that satisfies the holy God.  We have all sinned at times and have rejected God’s rule in our lives. So what hope have we?  Our only hope is not in our religious activities but that Jesus died as our substitute, taking the penalty for our sin.

The Old Testament

The Old Testament foreshadows the coming of Christ and teaches that it is he who will pay the price for our sin.  God’s Messiah, who will come while the temple was still standing, would be God’s suffering servant.  Isaiah wrote about what the Messiah would achieve 700 years before Jesus:

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:4-6

This prophecy directly describes God’s Messiah taking our sins upon Himself.

This substitution was demonstrated at Yom Kippur, the Israelite Day of Atonement that God ordered to be enacted every year when a goat was pictured as taking the sins of God’s people. Our word ‘atonement’ literally means being made ‘at one with’ Almighty God! Obviously an animal cannot do this or be responsible for our sin, this enactment looked forward to the day when God himself would become our substitute:

“When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins - and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness…” Leviticus 16:20-2

When the Israelites had been subjugated as slaves in Egypt for 400 years, God himself set out to free his people through Moses.  The last of the ten plagues was the death of the Egyptian firstborn. The Israelites were told to bring a passover lamb into their family and to stop eating any yeast, that represented sin, for seven days before the great day. They then had to sacrifice this lamb and place its blood on the doorposts and lintels of their homes. The angel of death passed over those homes who were protected by the blood or death of the Passover Lamb:

“The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect… Take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes… When I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” Exodus 12:5-7, 13

This message is repeated throughout the Bible, the blood of the Lamb is our protection.

The New Testament

The Passover Lamb prefigures Jesus, whose blood protects us from God’s judgment.  This is the message that Christ’s apostles repeatedly emphasise in the New Testament.  Paul alludes to the Passover when he wrote:

“Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” 1 Corinthians 5:7

John the Baptist introduced Jesus to his followers with significant words, he described Jesus as the ultimate sacrificial Lamb of God:

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

Jesus himself often taught that the ultimate reason he had come was to give his life as a ransom for others.  His death would enable people of all ages to become acceptable to God.

“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28

The repeated message of Christ’s apostles was that Jesus died as our substitute, because of his love for us, so that our sin could be forgiven:

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

This was a repeated message, Jesus took on our sins so we could receive the gift of God’s righteousness.:

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

The reason there was darkness for three hours when Jesus died was to show God’s sorrow and hatred of sin as Christ became a curse for us when he was crucified:

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’” Galatians 3:13

This has always been the Christian message, that Jesus bore our sins on the cross.  Thus Peter wrote:

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’” 1 Peter 2:24

This echoes Isaiah 53, which tells of Christ’s future substitutionary atonement.

Peter keeps stressing that God’s Messiah, his Righteous One, would come to die for us who are naturally unrighteous in God’s eyes.

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” 1 Peter 3:18

This teaching must never be overlooked, Jesus, God’s Christ or Messiah, died in our place to reconcile us to God.  He bore all the sins of his people once and for all.

“So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many . . .” Hebrews 9:28

The death of Jesus can have a profound effect on those who accept what he has done for us.  We sinful people have been given the status of being righteous in God’s eyes.  It was this realisation that changed the Pharisee Saul into the apostle Paul so he could write:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.  For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” Romans 1:16-17

The Old Testament foreshadows Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb, and the New Testament confirms that He took our sins upon Himself. His death on the cross was a substitution for our innate rejection of God’s rule in our lives, so fulfilling God’s plan of redemption. Anyone can experience God’s forgiveness and empowerment today if they turn back to God, that is to repent, to rethink the direction of our lives, and follow the one God who has revealed himself in his Son:

“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12

Forgiveness is not automatic, it is not ours because we are members of a Christian society, a church or a Christian family, God demands a personal response of lifelong repentance from every individual.

BVP

The Essential Christian Message

What answers do you think you would receive if you asked people what is the essential Christian message.? I asked Google and got this answer:

“All that's necessary to seal this salvation deal is to believe Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for our sins and rose again.”

Is that the message?  Another site correctly points out the doctrines that Christians believe in:

“The essentials are the resurrection of Christ, the gospel, the deity of Christ, salvation by God’s grace, salvation through Jesus Christ alone, monotheism, and the Holy Trinity. These are the basic doctrinal elements that we should understand and believe.”

Surely there is something missing here.  Can a person be doctrinally orthodox yet still not be a Christian?  In the first century AD there were many orthodox religious people around, the Pharisees who were clearly not right with God.  Jesus called them ‘whitewashed sepulchres’!  What was missing?

John the Baptist

His essential message was:

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 3:2

His essential message was to introduce the Messiah, God’s chosen king, God’s only Son.  However an introduction was not enough.  People must repent, change the direction of their life and become real followers of Jesus if they are to be saved and accepted by God as members of his Kingdom.

Jesus

It is no coincidence that when Jesus began his preaching ministry his core message was identical:

““The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:15

Note that their message was not just that Jesus is the Messiah but that an urgent response is demanded.  Repentance is nothing less that a change of mind about who rules in my life, myself or the Lord Jesus.

When Jesus was asked what is the central message of the Old Testament he replied:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’’ Matthew 22:37

He was quoting both from the Shema, the basic teaching God gave to Moses

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:5

“. . . love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord.” Leviticus 19:18

It’s a call to total devotion — loving God with every part of who we are: emotionally (heart), spiritually (soul), physically (strength), and intellectually (mind).

Jesus is clear that repentance Is an essential step and this means turning to live thereafter as God wants. Nominal belief in even correct doctrines saves nobody:

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

Today there are many who have a distorted view of what the Bible teaches.  Many hope they will be accepted by God because they believe in God and in Jesus and try to live in a way that pleases him.  I remember asking a lady who was dying whether she was ready to meet God.  Her reply was typical of many:

“I think so.  I have never done anyone any harm.”

She was comparing herself with others and thought she wasn’t that bad.  She had a very distorted view of what the Bible teaches.  She hadn’t understood that all of us fall far short of God’s standards and that there is no-one who can reach God’s standards by the good way we live.

Picasso’s paintings often showed a distorted view of people:, let this be a reminder that it is so easy to have a distorted view of the gospel.  Our view may be attractive to us but it remains distorted . Some of these distorted views have some resemblance to reality but others are well off the mark.

Saul, later called Paul, had such a distorted view of what God wanted.   He thought it was right to persecute and even murder the followers of Jesus until he had an epiphany and came to understand that Jesus really is the Son of God and the Saviour of the world.  Paul had thought that the devotion to doing what he thought was right was the way to satisfy God.  He thought that righteousness was something he had to attain. Later he repeatedly wrote to acknowledge how wrong he had been.

John Berridge became the Vicar of Everton in Bedfordshire between 1755-1793.  He also was a sincere man but he had not understood the Bible’s message.  His tombstone in the Everton churchyard carries the epitaph that he himself wrote:

The story goes that Berridge had spent 8 years labouring in church ministry in various places and was totally ineffective yet still somehow managed to rely “proudly on faith and works for salvation”.  At that time he thought that human merit and virtue was adequate to obtain salvation and his lively sermons exhorted his congregations to a life of good works. This is what he later wrote:

“ It was a doctrine every man will naturally hold while he continues in an unregenerate state, viz, that we are to be justified partly by faith and partly by works of our own. . . . It was some secret reliance on my own works for salvation.”

It wasn’t until he was 50 years old that he understood what the apostles taught, that it is Jesus alone who has won salvation for us.  He now understood,

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10

“He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:5

“For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” Romans 3:28

“…a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ… because by works of the law no one will be justified.” Galatians 2:16

This doctrine that we can only be put right with God if he gives us the gift of being righteous is throughout Scripture:

“For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed - a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17

The religious people in Jesus day, the Pharisees, also thought that God was satisfied firstly by their being admitted to Judaism through circumcision and then, by their keeping God’s laws.  They thought is was by a combination of being admitted to God’s people by rite and then by trying to keep God’s rules that a person becomes acceptable to God.  This is very similar to much churchmanship today.  Jesus however totally rejected this.  The thief on the cross was saved simply because he believed in Jesus.  Salvation is only given to those who have a personal faith in Jesus, to those who are committed to Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.  It is this personal relationship with Jesus that is the door to being given the status of being righteous as a free gift.

Nicodemus was a highly regarded religious man.  He had been appointed to the Sanhedrin, the supreme legislative and judicial council of the Jewish people. The Sanhedrin was responsible for both civil and religious law, with a responsibility to interpret and apply the Torah. The Sanhedrin was composed of 71 members, mainly Sadducees and Pharisees, and was presided over by the High Priest. Nicodemus, a teacher of the Jewish law,  was interested in who Jesus was, acknowledging that he did mind-blowing miracles.  Surely if anyone deserved to be acceptable to God this was the man. But Jesus said to him:

“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3

This is the great division between religion, man trying to tie himself back to God, and apostolic Christianity.

Old Testament teaching

Someone may reasonably object that in the Old Testament a person was saved by keeping the law.  Rubbish!  This has never been the case.  God has always wanted his people to have a personal relationship with him.  It is this relationship that will be apparent through members of God’s kingdom wanting to live as God has taught.

The prophet Joel wrote:

“And rend your hearts and not your garments.

Return to the Lord your God,

for he is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;

and he relents over disaster.” Joel 2:13

In ancient Israel, tearing one’s clothes (rending garments) was a traditional sign of grief, repentance, or mourning. But in this verse, God is calling for genuine inner repentance, not just outward religious display. He’s saying:

“Don’t just look repentant—be repentant.”

It’s a powerful call to heartfelt, sincere turning to God, not just symbolic gestures.

At the end of their lives both Moses and Joshua urged God’s people to become dependent on the grace of God and to show this dependance by the way they lived.

Joshua and the gospel

Towards the end of his life Joshua summonsed the Israelites together on three occasions.

1.  In Joshua 22 he summonsed the tribes who had been given land to the East of the Jordan.  He reminded them what God required from them, it was much more than an outward obedience to rules!

“But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Joshua 22:5

Love for the Lord was vital, this is a total commitment to him.  Who or what we worship can be seen in who or what we serve.  My priorities reveal who I serve.

2.  In Joshua 23, when life had become much easier all I Israel was summonsed to hear what Joshua had to say.  He again reminds them that all they have is because of God’s choosing them them to be his people.  This must mean that the people will continue resolutely to keep living as God had taught them:

““Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left.” Joshua 23:6

They will only live this God-centred life if they have a deep personal relationship with the Lord themselves.

“But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.”  Joshua 23:8

Joshua summarised what the foundation of this relationship was:

“So be very careful to love the Lord your God.” Joshua 23:11

Love for the Lord has always been foundational.

3.  In Joshua 24, Joshua assembled all the Israelites at Shechem, together with their leaders.  Shechem is one of the most historically and spiritually important locations in the Bible, located in central Israel, in the hill country of Ephraim, between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal.  Today, it’s near the modern Palestinian city of Nablus in the West Bank.

Shechem was the first place Abraham stopped in Canaan (Genesis 12:6–7)  God appeared to him there and promised the land to his descendants. Abraham built an altar there - marking it as sacred ground.

Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, bought land at Shechem and also built an altar to God (Genesis 33:18–20).

Joseph had asked to be buried in the Promised Land (Genesis 50:25). His bones were brought from Egypt and buried in Shechem, on the land Jacob had bought (Joshua 24:32)

Moses recognised that even God’s chosen people remain inherently sinful.  None of us is good.  What Moses said to God’s Chosen people is true today:

“After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you.  It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.” Deuteronomy 9:4-6

Three times in this short section God’s people are reminded that our righteousness is a gift from God.  Righteousness in the Bible is not primarily how we live to obtain God’s favour, it is his gift because we love him.

Isaiah similarly taught that the level of righteousness we can achieve is pathetic when compared to the righteousness we need to stand in his presence. He describes our efforts at being good as ‘filthy rags’.

“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” Isaiah 64:6

Even our best efforts at righteousness are stained by sin and cannot make us right with God. It reflects human inability to earn salvation and points to our need for God’s mercy and grace.

Moses had commanded that when the Israelites entered the Promised land they were to build an altar on Mount Ebal, cover it with plaster and:

“. . . write on them all the words of this law.” Deuteronomy 27:3

Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim are deeply symbolic in the biblical narrative. They are more than just geographical features - they represent God’s covenant blessings and curses, and the choice Israel had to make.

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land… you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.”  Deuteronomy 11:29

Mount Gerizim represented the blessings for obedience whereas Mount Ebal reminded them that disobedience would result in God’s curses.  This was a vivid, visual covenant ceremony: Israel stood between two mountains, literally surrounded by the consequences of their choice.

Moses had specifically said that this message had to be given to those who were outwardly God’s people at a Covenant Renewal Ceremony (Deuteronomy 27–28 and Joshua 8:30–35).

Moses commanded that once they entered the land, Israel must build an altar on Mount Ebal and write the Law of God on these stones and remind the people of  the blessings and curses that would result from their decision.  Joshua fulfilled this in Joshua 8, after conquering Ai:  Half the tribes stood on Mount Gerizim, the other half stood on Mount Ebal.  Joshua then read the entire law aloud, including blessings and curses. This symbolised Israel’s choice between obedience and rebellion.

At the end of his life Joshua, after conquering the land, Joshua again gathered all the tribes at Shechem for a massive covenant renewal ceremony.  He reminded them that the Lord wants people’s hearts which will result in obedience and service.

He reminded God’s people that everything they had was the result of what God had done for them (Joshua 23:1-7).  Joshua later recounted the story of their redemption (Joshua 24:1–13), emphasising again that it was all God’s work.  It was God’s power that had achieved their salvation and freedom, not theirs.

To have such a personal relationship involves a deep ongoing choice, just as a good marriage does.  He therefore goes on to say:

“Choose this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

Real faith has always been a personal commitment to live gratefully as one of the Lord’s own people out of gratefulness for all God has done.  A stone of witness was set up under a great oak by the sanctuary of the Lord.

He then called them to make a personal commitment that they would follow their Lord:

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness.”

“Choose this day whom you will serve…”

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”  Joshua 24:14–15

He reminds them that there is no place for half-hearted faith because

God is holy and jealous and he will not tolerate divided hearts.

“Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins.  If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign Gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”. Joshua 24:19–20

The people make a decision and publicly commit themselves to the Lord:

“We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.” Joshua 24:24

Joshua then set up a large stone of witness as a public reminder.  This is surely why public acts such as baptism or confirmation should be permanent reminders of the promise to God we have made.

The core message is that faithfulness of God must be responded to  with a personal, total, and enduring faithfulness on our behalf.

We must remember what God has done, reject false idols, keep His Word, and choose daily to serve Him.

Real Faith results in Service

One of the major problems facing much so-called Christianity today is that people think that ‘belief’ means accepting certain doctrines and ideas.  Christian belief is to love the Lord Jesus, it is derived from the Old English word ‘leiben’ to love.  This word is still in use in German.  This is exactly what James meant:

“Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:17

Joshua understood this:

:Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness.” Joshua 24:14

Joshua deliberately stresses this word about service, it comes a total of 18 times in the chapter, ‘serve’ comes 13 times, ‘served’ 4 times and ‘serving’ once.  A real saving faith that God honours will always be reflected in a heart that serves the Lord.  What we serve is what we worship.  Everyone worships someone or something, if it is something it is an idol.

An important question all should ask ourselves is “How am I serving the Lord Jesus?’

Real Faith results in obedience to the Word of God

What a tragedy it is that some have rejected the Word of God yet still want to call themselves Christians.  Kevin deYoung, a contemporary Bible teacher, has written in his excellent book, ‘Taking God At his Word’,

“General revelation is not enough to save us. We cannot know God savingly by means of personal experience and human reason. We need God’s word to tell us how to live, who Christ is, and how to be saved.General revelation is not enough to save us. We cannot know God savingly by means of personal experience and human reason. We need God’s word to tell us how to live, who Christ is, and how to be saved.”

Joshua concluded his appeal to the Israelites with the words:

““See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.” Joshua 24:27

Joshua had started his oration with similar words:

“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says . . .”

The conclusion God is looking for in all people

What better way is there to conclude this article than with the words of those listening to Joshua as he taught them what God required, these are words that we all need to echo if we are to remain faithful:

“And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.” Joshua 24:24

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The Gospel Centres on the Forgiveness of Sin

The Bible strongly emphasises that the forgiveness of sins, through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the core and essential message of the gospel. It is presented as the primary blessing of the gospel, providing freedom from guilt and reconciliation with God. The Old Testament role of sacrifices for the forgiveness of sin was a ‘type’ or picture of what God himself would do for his people when His Son entered this world to die for our sin.

1. Forgiveness is the Core Gospel Message 

The gospel is good news because sinners can receive forgiveness through Christ's sacrifice on that cross as a substitute for our sin, instead of facing rejection by God. 

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.“ Ephesians 1:7

“Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.  Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.” Acts 13:38-39

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15:3

“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13-14

2. The Apostolic Commission 

Jesus commissioned his followers to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations. 

“This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Luke 24:46-47

Peter’s sermons demonstrated that forgiveness of sin was the central message:

“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38

“All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Acts 10:43

3. The Basis of Forgiveness 

The Bible teaches that forgiveness is a gift received through Jesus' blood, not something we can earn: 

“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:28

“In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Hebrews 9:22

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you[a] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14

Redemption, being put right with God is synonymous with the forgiveness of sins through Christ’s blood.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” Ephesians 1:7

“. . . in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:14

4. How to Receive Forgiveness 

Forgiveness is received through faith, and this results in the removal of all condemnation. 

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” Romans 8:1

“ When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’” Luke 5:20

To be forgiven requires genuine repentance.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9;

When we see the sin in ourselves and the love of God to come and forgive us we will be more graceful to others:

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14–15

What confidence we should have when we understand what forgiveness means.

“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12

This is the wonder and thrill of the gospel:

“Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:18–19

While the gospel includes other aspects such as our becoming members of the kingdom of God, the empowerment for service with the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our resurrection to be with God in heaven, the forgiveness of sins is presented as the core of the gospel message. 

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Acts 2:13-36 What is the Christian Gospel?

A vital Message  v.13-21

One of the great preachers of the last generation was Billy Graham.  At the height of the Cold War he visited Russia to meet with political and religious leaders.  Many conservatives in the United States criticised him for not taking a more aggressive, prophetic role.  One person accused him of setting the church back 50 years.  Billy Graham responded:

“I am deeply ashamed.  I have been trying very hard to set the church back 2,000 years.”

The principles that Jesus taught his apostles were clearly effective in changing a godless, antagonistic society so shouldn’t we relearn these principles again.?

Peter’s sermon at Pentecost was the first Christian sermon and it sets the pattern for what churches need to teach.  Peter had been taught by Jesus in his three year apprenticeship.  Today our theological colleges are good at teaching psychology, counselling techniques, small group management and advanced theology but are not always good at training people how to preach.  In Christchurch Baldock our prime need is for excellent expository teaching which means riveting talks explaining what Jesus, his prophets and apostles taught.

The book of Acts is clear on the means by which the church advanced in those early very difficult years.  It was by the preaching of the Word of God.  Thus:

“So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith”. Acts 6:7

“Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went". Acts 8:4

Acts 3:20,  4:2,  8:5,25,35,40,  9:20,27 and chapters 13, 14, 17, 20 and on to the end confirm that this was the means by which the church grew.  In the time of George Whitefield and John and Charles Wesley the churches were inward looking so they and their colleagues took to preaching outdoors and it was through their preaching that England saw a revival.

John A. Broadus was a renowned 19th-century Baptist theologian who emphasised that preaching is the essential means of spreading the Gospel. He focused on doctrinal depth, passionate delivery, clear exposition of the Bible aimed at moving hearers to trust in Christ. He saw preaching as a difficult but vital work, requiring systematic preparation to ensure sermons were rich in doctrine and delivered with eloquence and interest so as to impact life and character of listeners. He wrote:

“No other religion has ever made the regular and frequent assembling of the masses of men to hear religious instruction and exhortation an integral part of divine worship, except Christianity.  Its the genius of Christianity as so designated by the Holy Spirit.  Others have copied it because of its power.”

After Jesus had been baptised and tested in the wilderness he began his public ministry and what he did was foundational:

“He taught in their synagogues.” Luke 4:15

What did he teach?  He read and then explained the meaning of Scripture, that is expository preaching.  Social work and pastoral care are needed but of prime importance is the teaching of the Word of God.

George Whitfield preached many times a day and his critics sometimes accused him of rambling.  He replied:

“If men will continue to ramble like lost sheep, I will continue to ramble after them!”

Phillips Brooks (1835–1893), an American clergyman and Bishop of Massachusetts defined preaching as "the presentation of truth through personality" in his 1877 Yale lectures, H emphasised that the ‘truth’ or message must be that of the Word of God, not just human ideas.

Peter’s sermon

This sermon gives a summary of what is at the heart of the gospel.  The late Australian evangelist, John Chapman, often asked people is they could summarise the Christian gospel in just 15 words. Peter does this in this sermon.  His sermon was so effective that 3,000 men became followers of Jesus.

The occasion

The occasion of this sermon is important.  In Hebrew, it is called Shavuot (rhymes with “a blue oat”), meaning “weeks” - and so it is known as the Feast of Weeks. Pentecost comes from the Greek word for “fifty” since it occurs fifty days after the preceding holiday, Passover. The passover was the day before Jesus’ crucifixion so this sermon was given just seven weeks after Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Shavuot was originally a harvest festival, the second of two firstfruits occasions. In Leviticus 23, following the description of Passover, we read:

“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, when you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.” Leviticus 23:9-11

This was the first firstfruits offering, the harvest of barley, which included sacrifices. Next, we read about the second firstfruits occasion, the holiday of Shavuot:

“You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the LORD.” Leviticus 23:15–16

This time, it is the wheat harvest. According to the Mishnah (put in writing about 200 AD), the processions to the holy city for this feast would be festive, and much more than just wheat being brought as firstfruits, as we see from this description:

“Those who lived near brought fresh figs and grapes, but those from a distance brought dried figs and raisins. An ox with horns bedecked with gold and with an olive-crown on its head led the way. The flute was played before them until they were nigh to Jerusalem; and when they arrived close to Jerusalem they sent messengers in advance, and ornamentally arrayed their bikkurim [firstfruits].” Mishnah Bikkurim 3:3

This time, though, it turned out to be a very unusual Shavuot!  The fruit flourished and the church was established through the verbal, intelligible, proclamation of God’s Word.

The opening of the sermon

Any good sermon needs to grab people’s attention at the outset.  For Peter this was easy.  There had been a supernatural noise, the sound of a violent wind, in the house where the followers of Jesus were together.  This was followed by visible tongues of fire which  separated and came to rest on each of the Christians.  They then could not but explode with joy and they went out into the streets to tell people the good news about Jesus, who he was and what he had achieved.  Those who spoke foreign languages heard them speaking about Jesus in their own languages.

“We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues.” Acts 2:11

These ‘tongues’ were real languages, not weird gobble-de-gook that some claim to be the repeat of the Pentecost experience today.  People were asking’

“What does this mean?” Acts 2:12

It was then that Peter stood up and with a loud voice taught them about an Old Testament prophecy.  He explained a passage in Joel that foretold the coming of the Holy Spirit on all of God’s people:

“I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.” Acts 2:17-18

This prophecy is remarkable.  Men and women will both equally be filled with God’s Spirit and the evidence of this will be that they share the gospel with others.

The last verse of this prophetic passage is very important

“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Acts 2:21

The Holy Spirit has been given so that people may be saved, put into a right relationship with Almighty God.

The purpose of the sermon

Any good sermon must have a single purpose and this Peter had.  He longed that people should be saved.  His final passionate words in this sermon makes his aim clear:

“He pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Acts 2:40

They were saved by accepting and responding to the message about Jesus:

“Those who accepted his message were baptised, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” Acts 2:41

So many sermons today lack this clarity of purpose.  The great Bishop J.C. Ryle wisely said:

“If there's a mist in the pulpit, you can be assured there will be fog in the pews.”

John Henry Jowett (1863 - 1923) was an influential British Protestant preacher at the turn of the nineteenth to the twentieth century. Warren W. Wiersbe called him ‘The greatest preacher in the English-speaking world.’  He said:

“No sermon is ready for preaching . . . until we can express its theme in a short, pregnant sentence as clear as a crystal.”

Jesus is a historical figure

After telling his hearers about the prophecy of Joel he gets to his core meagre - it is all about Jesus:  Look at how he starts the core of his message:

“‘Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him:” Acts 2:22-25

Later he comes back to centre on Jesus:

“God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. . . Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” Acts 2:32-36

There can be no doubt that Peter wants his hearers to know all about the historical Jesus.  He did not share philosophical ideas because he knew that people’s salvation depended on Jesus being a real historic figure who preached, healed, died and rose again.

The renowned English jurist Sir William Blackstone (1723-1780), lamented that the sermons he heard in London's major churches in the mid-18th century lacked specific Christian content. Blackstone visited almost every major clergyman's church in London but claimed he did not hear a single discourse

‘ . . . which had more Christianity in it than the writings of Cicero.’

Cicero was an eloquent Roman orator and philosopher of the 1st century BC, and his writings were considered a benchmark for secular morality and ethics. Blackstone's observation highlighted a prevailing trend in the Anglican clergy of his time to give a bland, philosophical morality, but avoiding the core doctrines of the Gospel, such as salvation through Jesus Christ. This spiritual apathy in the established church was one of the factors that led to the rise of evangelical movements and figures like John Wesley and George Whitefield, who began preaching with a more direct focus on the gospel message. Isn’t what Wesley and Whitfield were so critical of being repeated in many churches today?

There are too many people today who think, mistakenly, that the Christian message is somehow untrue. One listener to a clear gospel sermon went up to the preacher and said:

“I believe the gospel to be a concoction of nonsense to further the wishes of the few who want to hold power over the rest.”

That was not true of the apostles, being Christians cost them everything, including their lives, as they told people that the story about Jesus, his teaching, his miracles, his death and his resurrection were really true and that by following Jesus, not them, they could be saved.  Peter’s listeners knew that what he was saying about Jesus was true.

“Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.” Acts 2:22

Jesus died on that cross

Peter is frank about the need all people have for salvation, we all need to be saved from the consequences of our sin. He spoke with great courage about how many of his listeners had been responsible for the death of Jesus when they clamoured for his execution and the release of Barabas instead:

“This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” Acts 2:23

This was not anti-semitic, Peter himself was a Jew but he is willing to put responsibility where it lay.  A visiting preacher to a prison containing hardened criminals and murderers was talking about the death of Jesus and asked a rhetorical question:

“Who is responsible for his death”

There was a silence and then one man in the congregation blurted out,

“It wasn’t me, honestly.”

The reason Jesus had to die as the ultimate sacrifice for our sin was because we have all sinned. The Bible keeps saying this from beginning to end:

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

This means that every person has failed to meet God's perfect standard. However the following verse offers the solution, the same one that Peter offers in his first sermon:

“. . . and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:24

Every person stands under the wrath of God because we have turned our backs on him and his way of living. We all need to be saved.  God has provided the means of our salvation through the death of his son, Jesus Christ.  We can be saved only by becoming committed followers of Jesus.  His death for us is then our salvation.

God had planned for His Son to enter this world for the express purpose of being the ultimate sacrifice for our sin.  His death was no accident.  Isaiah 53, written 700 years before Jesus, makes this clear. This is just one Old Testament passage that explains how God will save his people:

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:5-6

When a new evangelistic course was being introduced the driving force behind it approached William Taylor, the newly appointed rector of St. Helens Bishopsgate.  After looking at its content:he replied:

“I’m sorry but I’m not happy as it doesn’t talk about the judgment of God at all, or the problem of our sin.”

To this response came the reply:

“I would never talk about the judgment of God to a non-Christian as it might put them off.”

Yet the Bible says that our sin is our greatest problem.  It is this sin that will cause us to face God in judgment. The only way to find hope, peace and purpose is to come to Christ on his cross and plead for his forgiveness.  He is then willing to bear our sins and set us free.  His death was the final sacrifice that all the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament looked forward to but only those who have repented and entered into a relationship with Jesus as their Lord can be forgiven.

The message of the New Testament is clear, judgment is coming on all of us because we are selfish unrighteousness people.  This is what Peter emphasises in his sermon, there is only one way to be saved and that is to call on the name of the Lord, which means to submit to him as Lord and Saviour.  He did not sanitise what he said, ‘You did it!’  Yet the Lord came to die as the substitute, bearing the sins of his people. This is what all the New Testament teaches:

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”   2 Corinthians 5:21

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” 1 Peter 3:15

It is only because Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died in our place that God can consider us to be righteous, because we belong to him.  We are saved by his death, his blood. This has been the church’s message ever since the apostles began to preach:

“We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:23-24

Jesus rose from the dead

Peter’s next emphasis is the physical resurrection of Jesus.  Everybody was talking about this at the time.  The apostles had all seen the risen Christ, as had over five hundred others.  They could all be interviewed.  This was not mass hysteria.  Peter explains:

“But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” Acts 2:24

He supports this doctrine of the resurrection by quoting from the word of God.  Remember that the Saducees, the political leaders of the Jews at the time, who included the High Priests, did not believe in a resurrection.  Peter quotes the great King David, who had been promised a kingdom that will continue for ever, ruled over by God’s everlasting king who will govern all people for eternity:

“Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay.” Acts 2:26-27 from Psalm 16:8-11

No wonder David was thrilled and he couldn’t keep quiet because he knew he was eternally safe, death was defeated.  He was safe because he knew the Lord God was in control of all.  In the previous verse he writes:

“I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Psalm 16:8

Yet the wording is significant. David was an adulterer and murderer, he was certainly not holy in himself, so who is he talking about.  Peter tells us what Jesus must have taught him, the ‘holy one’ is Jesus, David’s direct descendant, - he is God’s holy, sinless Messiah.  Jesus, although David’s descendant, is also his Lord.

David’s kingdom was extensive but it did not span the whole globe.  The Kingdom of God is both eternal and universal.  The resurrection of Jesus proves that his heavenly Father has accepted his sacrifice to pay for our sin.  Death cannot overcome those who are righteous and we are considered righteous when we turn to Christ, our role is then to live righteously..

No wonder Peter finishes this section of his sermon by stressing that the resurrection of Jesus really did occur:

“God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.” Acts 2:32

The tomb of David can still be seen on mount Zion in Jerusalem but there is no tomb for Jesus, only the empty shell where they think he ha been laid.

Jesus is exalted

The disciples had witnessed the supernatural ascension of Jesus.  They had also witnessed the extraordinary miracles he did, the raising of the dead, the healing of paralytics, they had witnessed his transfiguration, they had heard his teaching about the Kingdom of God and when he talked about his coming death and resurrection. They had been trained by Jesus for three years and knew the sort of person he was, they had witnessed his crucifixion, they had met him after his resurrection and had been there at his ascension.  They knew for certain that this Jesus is God’s Messiah who now rules God’s kingdom, the evidence was obvious.  Peter concluded this summary of his life with:

“Exalted to the right hand of God.” Acts 2:33

It is because of who Jesus is that he can give the Holy Spirit of God to his people, just as they had experienced.  At first they experienced the physical wind and the tongues of fire but then they all had the heart-felt desire to share the gospel with all around.  This gift of the Holy Spirit to his people was yet further evidence that Jesus was now with his Father:

“Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.” Acts 2:33

Peter finishes of this argument by again quoting King David, whom all his listeners admired:

“For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,‘“The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’” Acts 2:34-35, Psalm 110:1

The question must be asked, ‘Who was David talking about?’  The first ‘Lord’ in this verse is Hebrew for ‘Jehovah’ and in the Old Testament it is translated with capital letters, ‘LORD’.  The second ‘Lord’ was someone else, someone superior to King David.  This second ‘Lord’ of David is described as sitting alongside God the Father.  Peter is saying that this can only be Jesus.

Summary and significance for us all

Peter’s outline in this sermon is:

Jesus is a historical figure

Jesus died on that cross

Jesus rose from the dead

Jesus is exalted

He concluded his sermon with a telling sentence.  He has presented the evidence and then gave the obvious conclusion, that is relevant for all people:

“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” Acts 2:36

This is the essence of the Christian message:

“Jesus Christ is Lord of all”

We reject him at our peril.This has always been the apostolic message.  Paul begins his letter to the Romans in a similar way:

“ . . . the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 1:1-4

Mark begins his gospel

“The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.” Mark 1:1

Jesus himself said:

“‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’” Mark 1:15

At the end of Luke’s gospel Jesus summarised that the gospel centres on the forgiveness of sin, emphasising the Scriptures, his dearth and resurrection, the need for repentance and the importance of preaching this message:

“Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Luke 24:45-47

Peter’s listeners then, just as we do today, carry a responsibility for the death of Jesus.  Peter’s listeners were ‘cut to the heart’ wondering whether the plight they were in was irredeemable.  They asked each other

“Brothers, what shall we do?” Acts 2:37

The great news is that there is hope.  In stead of running away from God, people must turn round and come before him on bended knee.  Peter told them of the only solution:

“Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.’” Acts 2:38-39

The promises are in the Word of God. We know we are called when God speaks to our consciences that we need his forgiveness.

This has always been the focus of Spirit-filled preaching.  Such preaching is interesting, is based on facts, has its focus is Jesus, is challenging and results in people having to make a decision about Jesus.  Notice that the Holy Spirit is seldom mentioned after the introduction.  That is because the Spirit always turns people to focus on Jesus.

The Bible teacher Jim Packer, who has written several classical books, was wrestling about how to make the relationship between Jesus and the Holy Spirit clear to people.  That evening he visited a church that was lit up by many spotlights and the light shone in his understanding. That is precisely what the Spirit does. He causes us to see the beauty and wonder of Jesus, the lights themselves are much less significant.

The church’s message is simple but very profound:

“Jesus Christ is Lord of all”

We can be saved, forgiven and admitted to his Kingdom or we can remain unforgiven and under his judgment.  That choice is ours.

BVP

How Can Someone Satisfy God?

A group of sixth formers were asked,

“How can a person satisfy God?”

They came up with this conclusion:

“You have to worship him.”

They were then asked what sort of worship God expected and they concluded:

“You must live a good life.”

This is a very common way of thinking today.  The obvious questions are ‘What is good?’ and ‘How good do you have to be?’

The prophet Isaiah reminded his readers of a very important fact that what God values is different to what we value:

“’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are you ways my ways,’ says the LORD.” Isaiah 55:8

Isaiah went on to remind all his readers:

“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” Isaiah 59:2

When they thought about it they came to realise that this was true:

“So justice is far from us and righteousness does not reach us.  We look for light but all ius darkness, for brightness but we walk in deep shadows.” Isaiah 59:9

“For our offences are many in your sight, and testify against us.” Isaiah 59:12

They understood the problem but had forgotten God’s solution.  God had demonstrated a way for him to be satisfied.  It could not be through beautiful temple singing and praise.  It could not even be by the moral way they lived.  God cannot be satisfied by anything we do because we are all spiritually dead.  Righteousness has to be a gift and our sin has to be taken by someone else.  To teach people this:

“They had to offer sacrifices.”

The need for a sacrifice

Just imagine the court of priests in the tabernacle or temple when sacrifices were made.  The animals would be led or pulled in.  Some would cry out and others would undoubtedly defaecate on the floor.  When they were killed by cutting their throats the blood would splatter around on peoples’ clothes and fall on the floor.  Yet they were worshipping in the way God had ordained.  This was very different to the beautiful music and liturgy offered in many churches and cathedrals or the rousing rhythmic praise seen in some charismatic churches.  It is not that such magnificent events are not awe-inspiring, therapeutic and helpful but they cannot act as a substitute for the cross of Christ in satisfying God.

There are people who think that because they belong to a church with ‘right beliefs’ and regularly think of and praise God and try to live good lives they will be accepted by God.  This however is never enough to ‘satisfy’ God.

Even the Old Testament prophets had to remind people that outward religion, however theologically correct, could not make man acceptable to God.  The prophet Amos reminded God’s people that their services, offerings and singing did not impress the Lord whatsoever. He wrote,

“I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. ” Amos 5:21-24

Imagine the bloody sacrifices of animals in the temple.  The worshipper would bring with him a perfect animal.  He would put his hand on the animal’s head and symbolically transfer his sin and that of his family onto the animal.  He would then kill it by cutting its throat.  The priest would then collect some of the blood which would then be poured out onto the altar where the burnt offering was then made.  Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, some of this blood would also be poured onto the altar of incense too.

Why was this what God wanted?  A thinking Jew must have often pondered this question.  How could the death of a lamb give forgiveness of their sin?  This dilemma was partially answered when Isaiah foresaw that the time was coming when God’s servant king would enter his world as a baby and would die to carry our sins.

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God,  stricken by him, and afflicted.  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way. and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:4-6

Surely God had ordered these sacrifices to remind people that no-one is able to satisfy God’s holiness by themselves but that God himself would provide a way.

The sacrifice of an animal cannot, of itself, put anyone right with God.  These sacrifices were all symbolic and looked forwards to the day when God himself would atone for our sin.  We can be ‘at-one’ with God because of Jesus’ bloody death.

There was no other way that the Almighty Holy God could be satisfied.  Our word ‘satisfaction’ is derived from the Latin ‘satis’ and ‘facere’.  At school a child has to achieve a ‘satis’ level which, in Latin, means ‘enough’. ‘Facere’ means ‘to do’ so God is only satisfied because Jesus has ‘done enough’ to appease God’s wrath at man’s sin.  Christ’s death made atonement for our sins and we can now be united or at-one with our creator.  God reckons us as being righteous, if we are genuinely and personally following Jesus, because of what Jesus has done and for no other reason.  This is the only way that God can be satisfied with us.  Since the time of Anselm, a monk who became Archbishop of Canterbury (1093 to 1109AD), the Christian church has recognised that the death of Christ resulted in God being ‘satisfied’.

This explains why ‘blood’ is such a major theme of the New Testament.  The ‘blood of Christ’ is short-hand for the sacrificial death of Christ.  Consider these passages,

“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.” Romans 3:25

The NIV has an alternative translation which more accurately portrays Paul’s meaning of ‘sacrifice of atonement’:

“. . . as the one who would turn aside his wrath, taking away sin.”

This is the meaning of the King James version which says:

“. . . whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood.”

God hates all sin, anything that is not in accord with his righteousness, and yet because of his love he was willing to take the penalty for our sin on himself.  Paul continually emphasises the centrality of the death of Jesus,

“Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” Romans 5:9

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” Ephesians 1:7

“. . . through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Colossians 1:20

The words ‘reconciliation’ and ‘redemption’ have a similar meaning.  We have been freed, forgiven, justified and given peace with God because of what Jesus did on our behalf.

“You were redeemed from the empty way of life . . . with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” 1 Peter 1:19

If Jesus were not God his death could only be an example of selflessness.  But as God, the one sinned against, he is the only person who can bear our sin.  He had to be sinless himself to do this.  In the Old Testament only perfect animals could act as substitutes for peoples’ sin.  The writer of the book of Hebrews contrasts the sacrifice of animals in the temple to that offered by the Lord Jesus.

“The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” Hebrews 9:13-14

John similarly stresses that Christians have been purified from every sin through the death of Jesus.

“But if we walk in the light . . . the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:9

God cannot be satisfied by the worship we offer him but only by the death of Jesus, God’s own Son.  We have seen that throughout the New Testament this truth that we can only be justified, declared righteous, through the blood of Christ, is emphasised again and again.  It is not difficult to see the link between the unpleasant bloody scenes in the temple and the awful bloody scene at the cross of Jesus.  It is this turning to Christ by faith that is the key to being accepted and made righteous.

“For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17

A patient of mine with terminal cancer had recently become a Christian. She understood who Jesus is and what he died to bear her sin on that cross and she committed her life to Christ.  I subsequently visited her in the local hospice. To remind her of this new status she now had because she was trusting in Christ, we looked at Romans 8:1 which is a great verse on assurance.

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus . . . ”

To make this simpler to understand, I wrote her name on a piece of paper and placed it inside the Bible and closed it, hiding the paper with her name:

“Let this Bible represent the Lord Jesus and this piece of paper represent you.  Because you are now ‘in Christ’ when you meet God he will not see your sins at all, he will see that you are in Christ and have ‘his righteousness’.   Furthermore Jesus is now in heaven and because you are in Christ he will take you to be with him there.”

This verse so excited her that she asked a nurse to read the whole of Romans 8 to the others in her unit.

Although there is nothing we can do to be made righteous in God’s eyes, God has achieved this for us by sending his Son to die in our place. Subsequently there are different sacrifices we can make but we can never offer our own ‘sin offering’. When we have become committed to Christ there are offerings that God recognises:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1

God cannot be worshipped without a dependance on Christ who has saved us; our response reflects our gratefulness.  It is obvious that if our lives don’t change we haven’t understood how much God hates sin.  God’s chosen people must set out on a new path, to be holy.

King David, who realised that he was justified through the blood of a sacrifice, recognised that there are still sacrifices we need to offer in response,

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”               Psalm 51:17

The Old Testament clearly teaches that the worship God requires from his redeemed people is holy living.

“Worship the Lord in the splendour of holiness.” Psalm 96:9

An alternative translation which is preferred in the New International Translation of the Bible (NIV) reads,

“Worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness.” Psalm 96:9

No human being can be holy enough for God; we can only be acceptable to God if he gives us the status of being righteous and this is what Jesus offers us.   God accepts me because Christ’s righteousness has been credited to me, he has given me the status of being holy. It is not my righteousness but his that gains my acceptance.  When we are resting on the holiness of the Lord Jesus, with whom we must be intimately linked, we are saved.  Our response, which will always come if our faith is genuine, will be to spend our lives obeying him, so becoming a holy people who live like Jesus and long to win others for him.

In contrast, pagan religion teaches that to be right with God, people must enter the body of their god through an initiation rite and then live according to their rules. When the final judgment comes, it is their hope that their lives will be considered good enough, but there can be no certainty. This is the very antithesis of the Christian gospel which teaches that no man can be good enough but, if we are followers of God’s Son, then it is His righteousness that will be our passport to heaven. Such a relationship with Jesus will inevitably lead to changed lives that will focus on living to please him.

Substitutional atonement

The trigger that started Christchurch Baldock was an inter-church Easter March around Letchworth.  At one stop a curate spoke about the cross of Jesus but his only application for us was to say that Jesus did this as an example of selfless living that all should follow.  There was no mention of Jesus dying to bear our sins, the very centre of the Christian message.  When a group of us wrote about this in the inter-church magazine some senior churchmen objected, supporting the view of the curate.  This problem, wanting to gain the support of influential people over what the Bible teaches has now spread to other issues within many churches such as women’s headship, who can marry who, and other ‘woke’ issues.  When the Bible is rejected as being the word of God, anything goes.  Many of us felt we could not stay within a church where the central themes of the bible were not being taught.

The wrath of God at our sin is a fundamental issue stressed in Scripture.  For example:

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” Romans 1:18

God’s wrath is directed against human sinfulness and rebellion, which leads people to reject the truth.

“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.” Ephesians 5:6

This is a terrifying teaching for those who turn their backs on God, his Son and His word.  Yet this wrath has been appeased or propitiated by the death of Jesus as our substitute.

The concept of a ‘whipping boy’ who took the punishment deserved by a prince was probably rare,  but when the future Charles I of England (1600–1649) was a boy, William Murray, later 1st Earl of Dysart was his ‘page and whipping–boy’.  When Charles did wrong his friend had to pay the price!

Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Beltrame was 45 years old and a gendarme, a French police officer. In 2018 a man aligned with ISIS hijacked a car in southern France, killed someone, burst into a supermarket, killed two more people, and took a woman hostage.  Arnaud Beltrane, who was a convinced Christian asked to be allowed to take the woman’s place and this he did.  He was then murdered.  He gave his life so that the woman could be freed.  Can you imagine the deep gratitude that woman must feel for her saviour for the rest of her life.

This substitution is beautifully described in God’s directions in the Old Testament for what should happen on the Day of Atonement  when the sins of God’s people over the previous year were propitiated or atoned for.  In Leviticus 16 we read that the High Priest, after offering a sacrifice to make atonement for his own sin, takes two goats.

“He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task.  The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.” Leviticus 16:21-22

The sins of God’s people are removed far from them.  It is a picture of forgiveness.  The other goat is then sacrificed and offered as a sin offering.  The only way for sin to be forgiven is through a bloody sacrifice.

The writer of the book to the Hebrews is clear that the Lord Jesus fulfilled the atonement that the activities of the Day of Atonement represented.  This is how our sins have been propitiated:

“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” Hebrews 9:14

The message of the church

We held an inter-church youth meeting in our church.  One lady I didn’t know brought three youngsters with her.  She sat on her own so I went up to welcome her.  Her opening words shook me:

“The trouble with your church is that you talk too much about Jesus.”

I answered her by showing her the opening ten verses of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.  Every verse stresses the importance of Jesus.  But Paul goes further than this.  He emphasises the death of Jesus above everything else as this is how the redemption of god’s people was achieved.

“. . . but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” 1 Corinthians 1:23

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Galatians 6:14

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.” Galatians 3:13

This is the heart of God’s message to all people.  He loves each of us enough to come and die so that we can be put right with God.  Our sin is all taken by Jesus, it is removed far away from us, so we are free to live a new life representing Jesus is word and action.

There is no other way for God to be satisfied so this message about Jesus and his cross needs to be widely proclaimed by every Christian.

BVPalmer

The Meaning of Life

At a school Speech Day the head teacher addressed the whole school.  As he concluded he said,

“The purpose of life is to find the meaning of life and then to make this the purpose of your life.”

One of the most common questions humans ask is, “What is the meaning of life?” It’s a question that cuts across every generation, culture, and background. People seek meaning in their careers, relationships, possessions, and achievements, but often, even after gaining these things, they are left wondering: “Is this all there is?”

As Christians, the Bible offers clear guidance on this question. Today, we will explore some key passages that shed light on God’s purpose for our lives.

A recent documentary film about Elton John, called ‘Elton John: Never Too Late”, is crammed with thrilling footage of the singer, songwriter and pianist at the height of his 1970’s super-stardom.  He is now 77 and on looking back he admits:

“There was an emptiness within me.  My soul had gone dark . . . it was like I was dead.”

The Bible’s central message is that the meaning of life can only be found in serving our creator.

1. We Are Created to Know and Glorify God (Isaiah 43:7)

“Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” Isaiah 43:7

The first purpose of life for everyone is to know and glorify God. This is foundational. We are not random accidents of nature; we are purposefully created by a loving God, and our ultimate calling is to live in a way that reflects His goodness and brings Him glory.

Isaiah came to know God is a personal way and how this occurred is described in Isaiah chapter 6.  It is relevant for all as it depicts the features of all who have come into a relationship with God.  Isaiah had a vision of God.  He starts this description with the words;

“In the year King Uzziah died. . . .” Isaiah 6:1

Uzziah had reigned for 52 years and although he had brought peace and prosperity to Judah this had or was about to come to and end.  Uzziah was about to die, both physically and spiritually.  He had not understood the purpose of life and consequently lived under the displeasure of God.  When he became powerful he became proud and the Lord afflicted him with leprosy (2 Chronicles 26).  He was separated both from other people and from the temple.

At this time the Assyrians under Tiglath-Pileser III were expanding and exerting much pressure on neighbouring nations and the people of Judah were naturally anxious.  Uzziah’s son, Jotham, was about to take the throne.

Isaiah was already a prophet so what was his message to the people to be?

At this time God spoke to Isaiah in a way that forced him to consider who really is on the throne of his life.  Is this not the challenge all people need to face?  We all naturally seek the gifts God gives such as happiness, prosperity, status and security but so easily forget or just formalise the giver.  The Lord breaks through to help Isaiah consider what really matters and the answer is ‘The Lord’ himself.

“I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”” Isaiah 6:1-3

The triple use of the word ‘holy’ is a Hebrew means of emphasis.  The Lord is absolutely holy, his holiness is so much more than we can ever imagine.  It was the holiness of God that terrified Isaiah.  He realised that he was utterly unworthy to even be in his presence.  Holiness is a word, that, like light, has a spectrum of meanings when referred to the Lord.

1. He is Lord.

He reigns over everything.  Everything is in his control.  The Psalms keep repeating this teaching.  In John’s vision of heaven he sees God sitting majestically on a wonderful high throne (Revelation 4:2 on).  The knowledge that nothing happens without God’s permission is so comforting for God’s people, he has everything under control.  However this fact should be very worrying for those outside his kingdom.

2.  He is great.

God is ‘high and exalted’ (Isaiah 6:2) with seraphs worshipping him by serving him.  Significantly two of the six wings of the seraphs cover their faces, a sign of great respect, they cannot look on the holiness of God though they can still hear what he says.  Who are created beings to doubt the words of God?  Our role as created beings is simply to do what God tells us.  Some seem to prefer to debate what God has said instead of obeying it.  The wings that cover their feet indicates that true worshippers are not concerned about their standing but only the glory of God. The feet symbolise activity and in having them covered they are refusing to choose their own path.  Two wings were for flying on the Lord’s business and this should be true for all of God’s people.  Our worship must therefore include obedience, self effacement and a longing to go about God’s business.

3.  He is everywhere.

‘The whole earth is full of his glory” Isaiah 6:3

God’s glory is everywhere.  No-one can escape from it.  Psalm 139, a psalm of David, reminds us,

“Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?”  Psalm 139:7

The Lord sees the heart of every one of us.

4.   He is pure.

The purity of God made Isaiah look at himself with new eyes:

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips.I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”  Isaiah 6:5

Isaiah is focusing on the things he has said, things that were untrue, unkind and unloving  which all demean a person.  We cheapen life when we use obscene, vicious or slanderous words.  The fact that Isaiah’s whole society had behaved in this sinful way was no excuse.  He now saw himself in the light of God’s purity.

5.   He is merciful.

When Isaiah acknowledged his sin the Lord’s seraph comes to him with forgiveness.  The seraph takes a coal from the altar, where sacrifices were made for the forgiveness of sin ,

“With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” Isaiah 6:7

Isaiah was now at-one with God, all his sins had been atoned for.  

This God is far from a tame God, he is majestically holy and yet he still loves each one of us.  How can so many today trifle with this God?  Yet Isaiah was wrong, when he understood the majesty of this holy God was to leave him in a hopeless situation, ‘I am ruined’.  He had not understood that God loves him and wants him to be restored.   

Isaiah had something else he had to learn.  God restores people so that they will spend our lives serving him.  For Isaiah this meant going out into God’s world and telling people the words of God.  That is what a prophet is, someone who tells people what God wants them to hear. Isaiah’s response was immediate,

‘Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”  He said, “Go and tell this people:  . . .” Isaiah 6:8-9

There are unfortunately many today who think that God is here to serve them and make them happy, prosperous and healthy.  Such thinking is wrong.  We are here to serve the living God by using all he has given us and at whatever the cost is to us, with the certain knowledge that we will then join him in eternity.

The prophet Jeremiah understood that we have to respond to who God is and what he has done, and that then the Lord will restore us as members of his eternal kingdom.  God’s purpose is that we shall then serve him with all our lives.

“If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me;”  Jeremiah 15:19

When Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus he reminded them repeatedly of this message, that they were now to live for the glory of God.

“For he chose us in him . . . to be holy and blameless in his sight. . . to the praise of his glorious grace.” Ephesians 1:4-6

“. . . in order that we . . . might be for the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:12

“. . . until the redemption of those who are God’s possession - to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians  1:16

Imagine an artist who has painted a masterpiece. The painting does not exist for itself but for the artist’s glory. In the same way, we exist not for our own glory but for God’s. When we live in alignment with God’s will, our lives become like a masterpiece reflecting His glory.

Consider athletes who often speak of training for “the glory of the game.” But how much more meaningful it is to live for the glory of God? In the 1924 Olympics, the Christian athlete Eric Liddell famously said, “When I run, I feel His pleasure,” acknowledging that even his athletic ability was meant to bring glory to God.

2. We Are Called to Love God and Others (Matthew 22:37-39)

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself.’”  Matthew 22:37-39

Jesus summarises the purpose of life to two headings: loving God and loving others. This is the essence of all Christian living. Life isn’t just about success or self-fulfilment; it’s about relationships—first with God, then with others.

A plant grown in good soil with access to sunlight and water, will grow strong, bear fruit, and thrive.  Another plant grown in poor soil with no sunlight or water will wither away. The effect of living closely to the Lord is like the plant growing in good soil. If we love God and live by what he teaches, our lives will bear fruit for him. If we ignore God, or just give him lip-service, we will miss out on what gives us life and purpose.

Think about the billions spent annually on self-help books, therapy, and life coaching—people are hungry for meaning. Yet, the answer is simple: love God and love others. To serve the living God means to serve his Son, the Lord Jesus.  When you commit yourself to following Jesus you will invest in these two relationships - then everything else falls into place.

3. We Are Called to Become Like Christ (Romans 8:29)

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son,” Romans 8:29

The purpose of life is not only to glorify God and love others but also to become like Christ. We are called to reflect His character in our lives, to grow in holiness, compassion, and grace. This process, known as sanctification, is the journey we take as Christians, with the goal of becoming more Christ-like in everything we do.

Think of a sculptor working on a block of marble. The sculptor sees the image within the stone and carefully chips away at it to reveal the masterpiece. In the same way, God is constantly at work in our lives, chipping away at the rough edges, moulding us to be more like Christ.

In today’s world, personal development and “self-actualisation” are often emphasised. But while the world calls us to be ourselves, God calls us to be like Christ. This is a higher calling than any career goal or personal achievement. Famous Christian author C.S. Lewis once said, “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.” Our life’s purpose is to be transformed into the likeness of Christ, so that we reflect His love and character.

4. We Are Called to Serve (Ephesians 2:10)

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

Part of our purpose in life is to serve others as God’s representatives. We are not saved just to sit in comfort but to be active in doing the good works God has prepared for us. Our service flows naturally from our love for God and others.  In particular we must care for other Christians who may be going through hard times.  Jesus told us that the sheep and the goats would be separated at the coming judgment.  The sheep will be characterised because they love and follow the Lord and care for his people.  Jesus said

“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

Consider a river that is constantly flowing; it gives life to everything around it. If it is blocked, it becomes stagnant and lifeless. Similarly, when we serve the Lord, we allow God’s blessings to flow through us, blessing others. If we hold back and focus only on ourselves, our lives become stagnant and lose purpose.  The Sea of Galilee has an outlet, the river Jordan, and is full of life.  The Dead Sea has no outlet so it fills with salt and is lifeless, it is dead.

In today’s culture, we often equate purpose with achievement or success, but God calls us in a different direction, to a purpose of service for him.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in Somalia and raised by a pious mother and grandmother as a Muslim in Saudi Arabia.  In 1992, to escape from fundamentalist Islam and an arranged marriage, she sought asylum in the Netherlands.  She started life there with a cleaning job but later became a Member of Parliament in the Dutch Parliament.  After 11 September 2001 she turned her back on Islam and began to teach why the teachings of the Qur’an are wrong.  She then became a leading voice of the New Atheism movement with Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens. The “New Atheist” label was given to these critics of religion and religious belief.  She was chosen by Time magazine as one of the hundred most influential people in the world and became a fellow of Harvard University.

However in 2023 she openly acknowledged that she had become a Christian.  Six months after ‘coming out’ as a Christian she  appeared in a debate with Richard Dawkins which can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBsHdHMvucs     Ayaan and Richard remain very friendly,  but he had written in an open letter to her,

“Seriously Ayaan, you a Christian?  You are no more a Christian than I am.”

In this debate he recognised he was wrong, and that she now believed in the divinity if Jesus, his virgin birth and his resurrection.

“Ayaan, you are a Christian,” he concluded.

She briefly explained why she had changed her mind after recognising the emptiness of atheism.  She had been suffering from depression, self loathing and anxiety and nothing helped this, her atheism could give her hope.  Then one of her therapists suggested that she might be ‘spiritually bankrupt’.  This caused her to turn to the God of the Bible for help and she prayed for this.  She felt connected to something higher than herself and her zest for life returned.  She realised that the cultural values of the west are the fruit of a spiritual movement, belief in the God revealed in Jesus, and that the enlightenment was the child of Christian traditions.  She recognised that the values of love and grace, emphasised in the Bible, are what society needs.  When reviewing her time with the New Atheists she stressed,

“The biggest mistake we made was to equate Islam with Christianity.”

When reviewing what is happening in prestigious places of learning she says it is obvious that reason alone cannot supply a basis for a good satisfying life.  Something is missing and it is this that Jesus has given her and to many others.  Neither Islam nor atheism can give what people most need.  Reason that excludes God excludes the basis for moral values and purpose, whereas Islam lacks an intellectual basis for saying it is true and can lead to radicalism with ruthless cruel consequences.  Ayaan is deeply grateful for the life she has discovered since accepting the rule of the Lord Jesus in her life – life now makes sense.  Unlike the leprous King Uzziah she had turned to God in her need, recognised who Jesus is, and found salvation and freedom.  She now has meaning whereas previously there was only emptiness.

Conclusion:

To sum up, the Bible gives us clear answers to the question, “What is the meaning of life?”

1. We are created to know and glorify God (Isaiah 43:7).

2. We are called to love God and love others (Matthew 22:37-39).

3. We are meant to become like Christ (Romans 8:29).

4. We are called to serve others (Ephesians 2:10).

If we embrace these purposes, which all centre on Jesus Christ, we will find the deep and lasting meaning that everyone longs for. Ecclesiastes 12:13 reminds us of our purpose in life,

“Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”

May God give us the grace to live according to His purpose, revealed to us only in his word and in his Son, so that our lives will be meaningful by effectively serving him.   When we live with this perspective God promises us that we will be satisfied and find rest.  Jesus said to us all,

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 1:28-29

B V Palmer

Choose Whom You Will Serve

Life is filled with decisions, big and small. Some choices—like what to eat or wear—are minor. Others, like choosing a career or a life partner, shape our future. But the most important decision we will ever make is whether we will follow the Lord. Both the Old and New Testaments show us that we must actively choose to follow God. No one drifts into faith by accident. These are some key passages that highlight this call to decision and look at what it means for us in modern life.

Moses:  “Now choose life”

Throughout his leadership, Moses repeatedly emphasized the need for a conscious decision to obey God and walk in His ways. Moses, near the end of his life, reminded the people that they must choose between life and death, blessing and curse.

“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”  Deuteronomy 30:19-20

This choice was not short-term but entering into a permanent relationship to serve the Lord.

Joshua:  “Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve”

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

After leading the Israelites into the Promised Land, Joshua gathered the people and presented them with a challenge: they must make a choice. They cannot serve both the gods of the land and the Lord. Joshua makes it clear where he stands—his decision is to serve the Lord with his household.

Imagine standing at a fork in the road. Each path leads in a different direction, and you must choose which one to take. You cannot walk both paths. Life with God requires a deliberate decision to follow Him. Similarly, we must decide whether we will follow God, culture, wealth, or the idols of our hearts.

We face this choice today. Will we pursue worldly success and comfort at the expense of our faith? Or will we serve God, even when it is unpopular or inconvenient? For instance, many young people today wrestle with whether they will keep their faith when entering college or the workplace, where they encounter peer pressure to compromise their beliefs. Neutrality is not an option.

Elijah:  “How Long Will You Waver Between Two Opinions?”

“Elijah went before the people and said, ‘How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.’ But the people said nothing.” 1 Kings 18:21

The prophet Elijah confronted the Israelites, who were trying to worship both the Lord and Baal. Elijah challenged them to stop wavering and make a decision: either follow the Lord wholeheartedly or serve Baal.

It’s like trying to drive a car with one foot on the accelerator and the other on the brake. You will never move forward until you choose one direction. Many people today try to live with one foot in the world and the other in faith, but God calls us to complete commitment.

Think about someone who claims to follow Jesus but lives according to the values of social media influencers or culture. They go to church on Sunday sometimes but spend the rest of the week chasing approval, wealth, or fame. Elijah’s challenge is relevant: Are we fully committed to following Christ, or are we divided in our hearts?

Jesus: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves”

“Then he said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.’” Luke 9:23-24

Jesus teaches that following Him is a daily decision. It requires self-denial and carrying our cross every day. This means surrendering our desires and ambitions to God and trusting Him, even when it is difficult. He really does want the best for each of us, he wants us to know real joy.  There is no halfway commitment in discipleship; we are either following Christ or living for ourselves.

Imagine a person trying to run a marathon while carrying a backpack full of rocks. They won’t get very far unless they make the decision to drop the unnecessary weight. Similarly, following Jesus means letting go of whatever holds us back - whether it’s selfish ambitions, fear, or sinful habits.

We see this challenge clearly today. Success, comfort, and self-centered living are often promoted as life’s goals. But Jesus asks,

“Are you willing to lay down your life for Me?”

The cost of discipleship might involve giving up a high-paying job for ministry or standing up for your faith when it is costly. Just as it takes daily effort to exercise or eat healthily, following Jesus is a decision we must renew every day.

Just as Moses told the Israelites to choose life, Jesus makes a similar appeal:

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”  Matthew 7:13-14

Jesus presents with a stark choice: life or death, God’s way or the way of the world. Jesus leaves no room for a middle path.

Paul:  “I Have decided to follow Jesus”

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”  Philippians 3:7-8

Paul reflects on his personal decision to follow Jesus, even though it cost him everything. He gave up his status, reputation, and comfort because he understood that knowing Christ is worth more than anything else.

Imagine someone who spends their whole life accumulating treasure, only to find out in the end that it was worthless. Paul understood that everything the world offers is temporary, but what we gain in Christ is eternal.

Think of missionaries who leave behind family, comfort, and financial security to spread the Gospel in difficult places. They have decided, like Paul, that knowing and following Christ is worth more than anything the world can offer. For us, following Jesus may not require us to leave our country, but it might mean choosing to live differently from those around us - valuing God’s kingdom over material success.

In Paul’s letter to the Romans he warns Gentile Christians about the necessity of remaining faithful to Jesus, using the metaphor of an olive tree. He reminds them that they have been grafted into the family of God, the Jewish people, by grace, but if they become arrogant or unfaithful, they risk being cut off, just as unfaithful Israelites were removed.

“If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, ‘Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.’ Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.” Romans 11:17-22

Gentile believers (the “wild olive branches”) were grafted into the olive tree, representing God’s people. This inclusion is not because of their merit, but solely through faith in Jesus Christ.  Paul warns Gentiles not to become proud or complacent. Just because they were included by grace does not mean they are immune from falling away.  Just as some Jews were removed due to unbelief, Gentiles must remain faithful or risk being cut off from God’s family.  So

Paul is emphasising that faith must continue. Salvation isn’t just about entering the faith but also about remaining loyal to Christ.

The Call to Choose

Throughout the Bible, God calls His people to make a decision:

Moses:  “Now choose life, so that . . . you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.“ Deuteronomy 30:18

Joshua: “Choose this day whom you will serve.”   Joshua 24:15

Elijah: “How long will you waver between two opinions?”  1 Kings 18:21

Jesus: “Take up your cross daily and follow me.”  Luke 9:23

Paul: “I consider everything a loss compared to knowing Christ.” Philippians 3:8

Each of us must make this same decision. Will we follow the Lord wholeheartedly, or will we continue to waver? Neutrality is not an option—trying to serve both God and the world will only leave us frustrated and empty.

Many people today start their Christian journey with enthusiasm but later become complacent or drift away, thinking that their initial faith is enough. Paul reminds us that faith isn’t a one-time decision but a lifelong commitment. Just like we need to stay connected to a source of water to survive, believers need to stay connected to Christ through prayer, Scripture, and community.

A pilot preparing for takeoff cannot remain on the runway forever. At some point, they must commit to taking off or abandon the journey. In the same way, following Jesus requires a clear, deliberate decision.

Today, God places before us the same choice He gave the Israelites and Jesus’ disciples: Will you follow Him? This isn’t just a one-time decision but a daily choice to trust and obey Him. Like Joshua, can we say,

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”?

BVP

The Simple Christian Message

Simplifying the Christian message requires distilling its core truths while using clear, relatable examples from Scripture and modern life. In essence the gospel is the news about Jesus, who he is and what he came to do for each of us. Jesus created the world and us, he entered his world to save us and he longs to prevent us from going our own way, away from him, and to draw people back into a close relationship with him. Here’s how it can be expressed, focusing on the teachings of the prophets, John the Baptist, Jesus, and the apostles:

1. God Created and Loves Everyone

The Old Testament prophets consistently emphasized that God created the world and humanity in love. For example, Isaiah speaks of God as a Creator who knows us intimately:

“But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” Isaiah 64:8

Imagine an artist creating a masterpiece. They care deeply about every detail of the work, just like God cares for each person.

2. Sin Breaks Our Relationship with God

The central message of Jesus and John the Baptist was that all people need to repent, to rethink the direction of their lives and decide who is in charge of my life. Will it be God or will it be myself? John called people to turn from sin, preparing the way for Jesus’ coming as the ‘lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.’ We all need to be forgiven by god because of the way we have treated him:

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Matthew 4:17, 3:2

Sin can be compared to building a wall between us and God. Each wrong choice adds another brick, creating separation. Repentance is rethinking the place God will have in my life and it is Jesus who has removed that wall by taking our sin on that cross

3. God Sent Jesus to Restore Our Relationship

Jesus came to restore the broken relationship between God and humanity. He taught about God’s love and forgiveness. His central message was summarized in John 3:16:

“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.”

If a friend wrongs you, the relationship is strained. But if one of you reaches out to forgive and reconcile the relationship, the bond can be restored. Jesus is the one reaching out on God’s behalf.

4. Jesus’ Sacrifice Offers Forgiveness and Eternal Life

Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for sin. His death and resurrection opened the way for forgiveness and eternal life. The apostles, especially Paul, emphasized this:

“Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, he was buried, and he was raised on the third day.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Imagine you owed a huge debt you could never repay. Someone steps in and pays it for you, setting you free. That’s what Jesus did for humanity - paying the debt of sin.

5. Faith and Repentance Lead to Salvation

The apostles Peter and Paul taught that salvation comes through faith in Jesus and repentance. Peter said at Pentecost:

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” Acts 2:38

Paul reiterated that salvation is through faith:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith.” Ephesians 2:8

Imagine someone offering you a gift. You have to reach out and accept it for it to be yours. Faith is like accepting God’s gift of salvation, and repentance is turning away from anything that stands between you and God.

6. God’s Spirit Empowers Us to Live New Lives

Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come to help believers live according to God’s will:

“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” John 14:26

Paul spoke of the Spirit transforming believers:

“If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

It’s like having a personal coach, guiding and empowering you to grow and live the best life you can. The Holy Spirit helps believers make good choices and live like Jesus.

7. God Calls Us to Love Him and Love Others

Jesus summed up the entire law and the message of the prophets in two commands:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… and love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37-39

Think of life as a tree with two branches. One branch is your relationship with God, the other is your relationship with others. For the tree to grow, both branches need care. Loving God and loving others is how you grow spiritually and relationally.

8. God Calls Us to Share the Gospel with Others

A major role for all Christians is the sharing of the Christian hope with others. what better way is there to love them than to share the way to get right with God who we will all meet in judgment.

“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20

8. Hope in Eternal Life and a New Creation

The Christian message ends with hope in eternal life. The Bible promises a future where God will make all things new:

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.” Revelation 21:4

The Old Testament prophets, like Isaiah, spoke of this renewal as well:

“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth.” Isaiah 65:17

Imagine being given a broken toy as a child, but then someone comes and restores it perfectly, better than new. God’s promise is that He will restore the world and give eternal life to those who trust in Him.

Application to life today

Just as Jesus forgives us, we are called to forgive others (Matthew 6:14-15). If you hold grudges, it’s like carrying a heavy backpack. Forgiving someone is like setting that weight down.

Jesus taught us to love our neighbors. Acts of kindness - helping the poor, comforting the sick, or simply listening to someone in need - are ways to live out Jesus’ teaching today. Think of it as planting seeds of goodness that can grow into something beautiful.

In essence, the Christian message can be simplified into these key points:

1. God created and loves all people.

2. Sin breaks our relationship with God, but Jesus came to restore it.

3. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus offers forgiveness and eternal life.

4. By faith and repentance, we can receive salvation and live transformed lives through the Holy Spirit.

5. We are called to love God, love others, and look forward to eternal life with God.

This message is universal, appealing to the heart and mind, and easily relatable to everyday experiences of love, forgiveness, and transformation.

Who is Jesus?

Could it be that the reason churches in the West are so weak is that we have not really grasped who Jesus is.  When his disciples became sure of the answer it radically changed their lives.  Living for Jesus then became the only thing that really mattered.

Luke’s gospel emphasises from the beginning that the man Jesus was also the very Son of God.  Mary was told by the angel Gabriel who her son would be:

“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.” Luke 1:32

This naturally puzzled Mary who questioned how she could become a mother when she was still a virgin:

“The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:35

Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist knew what John’s role was to be, a prophet who would go before the Lord, the Most high God:

“And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,” Luke 1:76

The genealogy of Mary that Luke includes mentions that Jesus would be the direct descendent of King David but goes further back to emphasises that he really would be the descendent of God himself.

“. . . the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.” Luke 3:38

When Jesus was tempted the focus was always on the question as to whether he is the Son of God:

“The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’” Luke 4:3

“The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here.” Luke 4:9

When Jesus began a healing ministry many recognised what this demonstrated:

“Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.” Luke 4:41

When the demon-possessed man, Legion, met Jesus he cried out,

“When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?’” Luke 8:28

At his trial before the Sanhedrin Jesus openly told them who he was:

“But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God. They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied, “You are right in saying that I am.” Luke 22:70

Tensions at Nazareth     Luke 4:14-30

After his baptism and a time of being tempted by Satan in the desert, Jesus returned to Galilee where he had been raised as a child. He was now around thirty years old.  He travelled around Galilee speaking in their synagogues and was very well received by those who heard him.  He then visited his home town of Nazareth and on the Sabbath went, as was his habit, to the local synagogue.  He was again invited to speak.  He stood to read from the scroll containing the book of Isaiah.  It is significant that most synagogues today have a scroll containing the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, but not one for the book of Isaiah.  Jesus unrolled the scroll and, after finding the passage he wanted, began to read from the beginning of Isaiah 61:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” Luke 4:18-19

He then sat down to teach the congregation.  Most rabbis taught from a chair. Luke tells us that those present were gripped, presumably by both Jesus’ demeanour and by what he was saying.  The reason Jesus chose this passage became apparent as he began his sermon:

“Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:21

Jesus spoke in such a gracious way that his listeners were amazed.  They knew him as just a carpenter’s son so how could he speak like this and do those miracles?  Perhaps some expected to see a miracle such as a blind person receiving their sight.  Expectancy must have been high.

Jesus chose this passage for a special reason and it is possible that he went on to explain the context as Luke says that this was just the beginning of what he said.  Let’s look at the context.

The context of Isaiah

Isaiah lived around 700 BC.  The northern kingdom of Israel had already been destroyed by the Assyrians.  The Bible is clear that God ordained this destruction because of their persistent wickedness and rejection of himself.  The little state of Judah had held out but Isaiah warns them that they would suffer a similar fate from the Babylonians because of their backsliding.

Isaiah 58

This chapter reveals that the reaction of the people of Judah to the difficulties they were facing was religious, they held a fast.  God tells Isaiah to warn the people that religious activities are not what God requires:

“Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.” Isaiah 58:1

God’s people had an outward show of religion but it was only superficial and not heartfelt.  God saw the truth:

“For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.” Isaiah 58:2

They went so far as to hold a fast in the hope that that would make God change the way he was dealing with them!

“‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’”

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarrelling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists.  You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.” Isaiah 58:3-4

Outward orthodoxy and theological correctness is not all that God wants, he wants people’s hearts and this will be seen in how people live.  Nothing less than a radical rethink, repentance, will do.

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” Isaiah 58:6-7

A real Christian faith will always be seen in the way that it overflows as a love for others.  A love for others is no substitute for a love for our Lord, which is the first and greatest commandment, but love for others will always be seen to accompany this. (Matthew 22:34-40).

When God’s people have such a Christ-centred faith everything will change:

“Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.” Isaiah 58:9

When we humble ourselves before him he responds with a warm, ‘Here am I’.  The relationship is restored and God’s righteousness is given to us.

Isaiah 59

However God knows how stubborn our hearts are and knows that it will take a miracle to change us.  Isaiah makes the diagnosis of man’s lot clear:

“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.  For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things.” Isaiah 59:2-3

The wonderful truth is that, in spite of our rebellion God himself will step in to remedy the dreadful, helpless situation mankind has put himself into.  There was no purely human leader who could bring about the ends God wanted.  God would have to act himself:

“The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm achieved salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.   He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helme

t of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.”  Isaiah 59:15-17

Isaiah 60

God was determined to save a people for himself who would then live for his ends.  Isaiah 60 is a wonderful chapter depicting the glory of God’s people whom he will call from across the nations.  God himself will be their Saviour and redeemer:

“Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your Saviour,  your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” Isaiah 60:16

Isaiah 61

Jesus claimed to be God’s Chosen King, the Messiah, that Isaiah had foreseen would come to deliver a people for himself:

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,” Isaiah 61:1-2

It is as if this script was written specifically for Jesus!  It goes on to describe the glory that he would give to his people.  Despair would fade to be replaced by joyful praise.  The righteousness of God their Saviour would be credited to their account and with his help they will become like him.

“ . . . to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendour.” Isaiah 61:3

Oaks are solid trees that can withstand much buffeting by the weather and Christians will display God’s love and righteousness in all situations.

Isaiah 65

Isaiah reminds us that God would draw people to himself from all nations:

“I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me.  To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’” Isaiah 65:1

What wonderful news this is, that those of us born outside Judaism can now become the people of God. The conditions remain the same, we must repent, rethink the direction of our lives, and determine to live in tune with our Lord.

This may seem too good to be true but God then tells Isaiah when all this will be fulfilled.  It starts now but the reality is yet to come in the next real world.  He will create a heavenly city of God:

“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth.  The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy.   I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.”  Isaiah 65:17-19

In this world we will rejoice forever.  All our old problems will be forgotten.

The Saviour is described

In the preceding section of Isaiah we are told much about God’s Messiah, his Servant King, who would come and achieve all this.  Isaiah shares four songs about this Servant King.  The first begins:

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.  He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”  Isaiah 42:1-4

At Jesus’ baptism God himself encouraged Jesus and ourselves that Jesus was indeed the Son of God.  This verse from Isaiah was quoted:

“And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’” Mark 1:11

It is up to God’s people to make the news about Jesus widely known.  Though his disciples were relatively few it would be up to them to pass the news on:

“ . . . let them give glory to the LORD and proclaim his praise to the islands.” Isaiah 42:12

This Servant king wants us to know that he will be very close to all his people and that whatever problems they face they are safe in his hands; he will always be with us until heaven materialises.

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour.”  Isaiah 43:1-3

What reassurance this gives us.  If we are living with Christ nothing can harm us – our eternal destiny is secure.

Isaiah, in the fourth Servant song (Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12), gives us one of the most remarkable prophecies in the Bible.  It describes, in great detail, how God’s Messiah would be the remedy for our sin.  He would take on himself our sin that separates us from God and die as our substitute.  The animal sacrifices were but a picture of what God himself would do to pay for our sin.  This passage includes:

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:4-6

This is the Christian gospel in a nutshell, we are unable to help ourselves but God has taken on himself the very sin that separates us from him.  Although the Messiah would die for us that would not be the end – he will rise from the dead.  Staggering though this prophecy is, that is exactly what happened to Jesus:

“Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.  For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:8-12

The historian H. G. Wells said that a man’s greatness can be measured by ‘what he leaves to grow, and whether he started others to think along fresh lines with a vigour that persisted after him.’ Wells, although not claiming to be a Christian, acknowledged: “By this test Jesus stands first.”

Alexander the Great, Charlemagne (styled “the Great” even in his own lifetime), and Napoleon Bonaparte were powerful rulers. By their formidable presence, they wielded great influence over those they commanded. Yet, Napoleon is reported to have said:

“Jesus Christ has influenced and commanded His subjects without His visible bodily presence.”

The claim of Jesus

This is why what Jesus said in the synagogue in Nazareth is mind-blowing and staggering.  He says that God, through the prophet Isaiah, is foretelling what he would achieve.  History shows that this was true.  Jesus did do miracles as no-one else has done, the blind did see and the lame did walk.  He did die for our sin and he did rise again.  He did teach us how we can be certain that we are acceptable to God.  He is truly great, even today.  He has set his people free to live lives that have his priorities. He alone can honestly claim:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” Luke 4:18-19

The reaction of people

In Jesus' time, Nazareth had a population of only around 400 people. They knew Mary and Joseph, his family, and the carpentry workshop.  At first Jesus listeners ‘all spoke well of him’ (Luke 4:22)   Undoubtedly they would have heard of the miracles he had performed at Capernaum and elsewhere and Jesus knew that this was what they really wanted.  How easy it is to want a faith that makes me feel comfortable but is not for the glory of God.  The last thing the people in the synagogue wanted to do was to bow down before Jesus and say, ‘My Lord and my God’ yet that is the only response God wants.  Jesus said to them

“You will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”   Luke 4:23

They were saying, ‘If you are so special give us proof!’  They were acting as judge whereas the truth is the other way round – God was judging them over their reaction to Jesus.  They didn’t want him to be their Lord.  God chooses people on the basis of how they respond to Jesus.  He reminds them of what Scripture teaches by reminding them of the prophets Elijah and Elisha.

“‘Truly I tell you,’ he continued, ‘no prophet is accepted in his hometown.  I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.  Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.  And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”  Luke 4:24-27

God choses whoever he wants from all nations, to be his holy people.  The poor widow of Zarephath and the rich important general of Syria were both Gentiles and yet they were accepted by God.  The Israelites were worshipping Baal and other idols so God took away his blessing from them.  They rejected God so he rejected them.

The people of Nazareth were furious to hear that God might prefer Gentiles to themselves.  They drove Jesus out of the synagogue and then out of the town to a local cliff top.  They were so angry they wanted to throw him down the cliff face.  Jesus however just walked away throw the crowd.  Their only hope for eternity left them to themselves!

Doubtless those people of Nazareth went back to their ordinary everyday lives, rejecting the rule of Jesus.  The tragedy is that one day they will meet Jesus again but this time in judgment with him sitting on his heavenly throne.  Their excuse, that they wanted more evidence, will not be valid then.

Today many like the idea of Jesus, the standards he represents and what he has done for others but, like the Jews in Isaiah’s day and the people of Nazareth in Jesus time’, many refuse to recognise their need of God’s forgiveness and fail to recognise who Jesus really is.  The consequence of this decision will be eternally fatal.

The apostle John describes the vital decision that everyone, must make.  Jesus was rejected by many Jews but the opportunity to become one of God’s people remains open to us all now:

“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:11-12

BVP

Romans 9. Who is Blessed?

Yesterday I was walking my dog and got into conversation with a lady I had met previously and had given her the article, ‘Mistakes, Minor, Major and Catastrophic’ that can be found on this website (www.bvpalmer.com).  After chatting about the article for a while I asked her whether she was a Christian or wasn’t sure. She replied in a way so many do today:

“I was brought up as a Christian but I’m not involved in a church now – but I do try to be kind and thoughtful to others.”

What a great opening this was to explain to her what the Bible teaches, that no-one can get right with God by what we do.  To be accepted by God , to be deemed righteous, can only be the result of a gift from God, but he has said how this wonderful status can be given – this is only to those who turn back to God and agree to live on his terms.  This was how people were saved in Old Testament times.  This is how we can be saved today though we know much more about how God saved us by entering this world as Jesus and becoming the final sacrifice for our sin himself.

This morning I was reading the Bible story of how Jacob dressed in Esau’s clothes in order to be blessed by his father, Isaac.  Esau was distraught when he discovered how Jacob had cheated and lied to receive Isaac’s blessing:

“‘He has deceived me these two times: he took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!’  Then he asked, ‘Haven’t you reserved any blessing for me?”

Isaac answered, ‘I have made him Lord over you and have made all his relatives his servants, and I have sustained him with grain and new wine.  So what can I possibly do for you my son?” Genesis 27:36-37

The lesson is clear – such a blessing is irrevocable!

Today the concept of being blessed has been trivialised.  Someone sneezes and the response is ‘Bless you!’  Your team scores a goal or wins a match and people think, ‘We were blessed!’ or in other words a blessing is a transient fortune.

God’s blessing is a serious commitment.  It confers a permanent status on the person who is blessed.  We cannot earn this blessing by the way we live.  The thief who died alongside Jesus was told that he would be with Jesus in paradise.  This was the gift of God, he had no time to achieve a righteousness by the way he lived!  We may be despicable selfish people, like Jacob, and yet be blessed by God.  Jacob only experienced this relationship many years later when he wrestled with God – and surrendered! The surprising doctrine is that the status of being righteous is a gift given to few, it can never be earned through good living.  There is, however, always a purpose behind God blessing the few – it is that those who are blessed by him have been chosen to live for God’s glory.

There can be two children in a family, one may be blessed but not the other, in other words one may want to be God’s person and one not.  That decision reflects whether they have been blessed by God.

Paul explains this when he discusses the issue of the twins, Jacob and Esau:

“Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad – in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: not by works but by him who calls – she (Rebecca) was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’  Just as it is written, ‘Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.’” Romans 9:11-13

To many modern minds this seems unfair but even people in Paul’s day thought this was asking, ‘Is God unfair?’  Paul continued,

“What shall we say? Is God unjust?  Not at all!  For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”  It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.” Romans 9:14-15

What is the purpose of God’s blessing?

The purpose of any activity of God is ultimately that God and his Son will be honoured.  Paul reminds his readers of this.  Moses was told to explain this to the Pharaoh of Egypt before he freed the Israelites from slavery:

“I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Romans 9:17 and Exodus 9:16

Who is righteous?

It is a tragedy that many in churches today seem to think that the gospel is primarily for their benefit.  I was invited to give a series of mid-week evening talks on the Christian Basics in a well attended Roman Catholic church.  About thirty people came to the first evening.  At the end a very pleasant Irish lady came up to thank me.  I felt chuffed.  She then added,

“I don’t know why everybody isn’t a Christian,” and I heartedly agreed with her.

She then added something that showed how little she really understood,

“ . . .after all, all God wants is one hour a week!”

Job was a moral, upright man but he was also self-centred.  Reading Job’s speech in Job 16:4-22 reveals this.  He talks about himself all the time.  ‘I’ and ‘me’ come 47 times in these few verses.  Job knew however that he was a sinner.  Yet he is also called righteous.  This is strange.  How can a sinful person be righteous when righteousness is a quality that only God has?

“There is no-one righteous, not even one . . .” Romans 3:10

“. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the  glory of God.” Romans 3:23

The Bible teaches in both the Old and New Testament that we can only be righteous if God declares us right. This gift is given and we are therefore given the status of being right in God's sight when we commit ourselves to Jesus, the Son of God, who came to this earth as a man to save people for himself.

Job was not righteous because he was an upright, moral man with integrity.  He was only considered righteous because he had turned to God in repentance and had trusted him for forgiveness and had therefore been given the status of being ‘a righteous one’.  There has never  been any other way to be considered ‘righteous’.  Job clearly believed in personal salvation and said,

“I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes – I and not another.  How my heart yearns within me.” Job 19:25-27

It was only because of the grace of God that Abram, later to be called Abraham, the Father of God’s people, was made righteous – it was a gift of God:

“Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:6

Phinehas, Aaron’s grandson who executed Zimri and his Midianite wife (Numbers 25) and so averted a plague was granted the status of being righteous,

“But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was checked.  This was credited to him as righteousness . . .” Psalm 106:30-31

This gift of being made righteous, of being blessed by God, is given to all who bend their knee, figuratively, before Jesus and so allow him to be their Lord and Redeemer or Saviour.  As John says,

“Yet to all who received him (Jesus), to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12

What greater blessing can there be that to be adopted into God’s family and kingdom?  Jesus put this same truth another way,

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24

A student was talking to the Australian Christian teacher, John Chapman.  The student did not like the doctrine that God had to call people and bless them if they are to be saved.  He thought everything depended on him.

“I could commit my life to Christ if I wanted to,” the student arrogantly exclaimed.

“No you can’t,” replied Chappo.

“Yes, of course I can.” the student responded.

“Go on then, do it, turn to God now.”

The student hesitated and then said,

“No, I don’t want to!!!!”

That student hadn’t received the call of God so he couldn’t make that decision to ask Jesus to be his Redeemer and Lord.

The same is true for all of us.  If you can turn to God then you know that he has called you to be his representative in the way you live and in the way you speak about him.

BVP 

Nabeel Qureshi - A Muslim Seeking God, BUT Finding Jesus

Nabeel Qureshi was a passionate Muslim, raised in a devout Ahmadi Muslim family.  When a student he loved arguing with Christians , trying to dissuade them from their often superficial faith. One day he was sharing a room with a colleague, David Wood, who had become a Christian whilst in prison. He saw David reading his Bible and exclaimed:

“You know that the book you are reading is not trustworthy - it been corrupted over time.”

David looked up, closed his Bible and simply said,

“Go on’”

Nabeel then gave his standard argument that had floored many others:

“Jesus spoke in Aramaic.  The church in Israel spoke Hebrew.  The New Testament was written in Greek.  Then it was translated into Latin, then German and finally into English.  So what you have is a translation from a translation from a translation.  There are now many versions so which one is the Word of God?”

Then David replied:

“Nabeel, let me ask you a question.  A few minutes ago you spoke to your mother on the phone.  When you told me in English what she told you. was that a corrupted translation?  When you are multilingual you can take a message and relay that message into another language accurately.

That is what the disciples did.  Whatever Jesus said in Aramaic, they wrote down in Greek.  There are over 6,000 copies of New Testament manuscripts, 10,000 Latin, Coptic and Syriac translations of these early manuscripts.  There are over 30,000 quotations in the writings of the early church Fathers, enough to reconstruct the whole of the New Testament.  We know precisely what Jesus and his apostles taught.”

Nabeel was stunned, thinking that David must have made this up as it was so different to what he had been taught about the Scriptures having been corrupted.

Both Nabeel and David agreed that it is truth that matters and they continued to debate the evidence.  A year later they had become very good friends. Nabeel came to accept that the New Testament is reliable and that it is not possible for it to have been corrupted - but he still did not accept the gospel message.

Is Jesus God?

Having been brought up as a Muslim this was one doctrine he could not accept.  It is the major sticking point for Muslims.  Although the Qur’an recognises Jesus to be a great man and a mighty prophet of God they totally reject the doctrine that he was God, that he was crucified and that he then rose from the dead.  They teach that to say Jesus is God is the worst blasphemy any person can commit.  The Qur’an teaches that if a person believes Jesus is God they will go to hell.:

“Believers! Always be on your guard against encounters.”   Surah 4:71

“And surely they disbelieved when they said: 'Christ, the son of Mary, is indeed God'; whereas Christ had said: 'Children of Israel! Serve Allah, Who is your Lord and my Lord.' Allah has forbidden Paradise to those who associate anything with Him in His divinity and their refuge shall be the Fire. No one will be able to help such wrong-doers.” Surah 5:72

The Qur’an also describes a conversation said to be between Allah and Jesus:

“And imagine when thereafter Allah will say: 'Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to people: "Take me and my mother for gods beside Allah?" and he will answer: "Glory to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right to. Had I said so, You would surely have known it. You know all what is within my mind whereas I do not know what is within Yours. You, indeed You, know fully all that is beyond the reach of human perception.” Surah 5:116

When Nabeel discussed this with David, his response was to hand Nabeel a copy of the gospel of John and asked him to look at the first few verses.  He read:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” John 1:1-3

This lead onto a discussion on who the Word is.  He was asked to look on to verse 14:

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”     John 1:14

This gave Nabeel a real problem.  He had accepted that the New Testament was unchanged and yet they taught that Jesus was God and the world’s creator.  He thought hard for a way out.

“But this was written by John, the last of the apostles to write.  Could this be his own development of doctrine?”

David, who knew the Scriptures well, asked him to look on to see what the Jews understood Jesus to be saying when he said:

“Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

“You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”  

At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.”     John 8:55-80

The reason they tried to stone Jesus was because he claimed to be God, stoning was the recognised punishment for such a presumption.  When Jesus claims the name ‘I am’ he is using the very name of God.  When God met Moses, at the burning bush, he was commissioned to go back to Egypt and, with God’s help, to set the Jews free from slavery under the Egyptians:

“Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:13-14

‘I am’ is the name of God and Jesus often applied this to himself.  They countered by saying:

“You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”       John 8:58

Jesus does claim to have existed before Abraham, ‘Before Abraham was, I am.’. He then uses the same name that God had told Moses he was called, ‘I am’. Jesus repeated used this name for himself.

Later Jesus said to the Jews:

“I and the Father are one.” John 10:30

Their response made it clear that they did understand what Jesus was claiming:

“Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him.”

Jesus then asked which of the miracles he had performed had upset them and they replied:

“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” John 10:33

After the resurrection Jesus met up with his disciples a second time and on this occasion the doubtful Thomas was with them.  He now saw the risen Jesus:

“Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” John 20:28

This doctrine was clearly a problem for Nabeel who had accepted that the New Testament documents were reliable but rejected the divinity of Jesus.  He suggested that it was just John’s gospel which had been modified from what Jesus actually said and that these passages were inserted as the doctrine of Jesus’ divinity developed.

David was up to this challenge and suggested that they look at Mark’s gospel which is widely accepted to be the first one written, perhaps only 20-30 years after the death of Jesus.  At the trial of Jesus:

“Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 

The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked.  “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”

They all condemned him as worthy of death.” Mark 14:61-64

So Peter, who was behind Mark’s gospel, clearly taught that Jesus claimed to be God.  This is the very opposite of what the Qur’an teaches.

David continued to show that this was the teaching of all the New Testament.  Paul wrote:

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

Note these three doctrines that are essential to be accepted, Jesus is the Lord God, he was crucified and he was raised from death.  Furthermore these doctrines must be spoken about publicly

Jesus said something similar:

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:32-33

This is the very opposite of what the Qur’an teaches and what he had been taught.  They deny the crucifixion, resurrection and the divinity of Jesus.

Could Jesus have been deluded or mad?  Some psychiatric patients do claim to be God but there are always other indications to show they are deeply disturbed people.  Jesus was clearly sane and well balanced yet he said these extraordinary statements about himself.  The question is ‘Why did he do so’

After Peter had recognised that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus made it clear what this word meant.  He had not come as a victorious General to defeat the Romans but as a Saviour who had come to defeat the power of sin.  He was going to killed as the ultimate sacrifice for sin but would then rise again.  This was to be the absolute proof, on top of all the other miracles that he had done, that his claim to be God were true.

“He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.” Mark 8:31

He kept repeating this prophecy that he would rise from the dead:

“He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.” Mark 9:31-32

“We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” Mark 10:33-34

The resurrection is the vindication of Jesus’ claim.  That he died by crucifixion is not in doubt. Even sceptics like Bart Ehrman, John Dominic Crossan, and Gerd Lüdemann acknowledge the crucifixion of Jesus as a historical fact, citing non-Christian sources like the Roman historian Tacitus and the Jewish historian Josephus, along with the early Christian creedal material and non-Christian contemporary accounts from the Talmud and the Greek satirist Lucian. These skeptical scholars argue that the crucifixion is as certain as any historical event can be. 

Similarly the case for the resurrection is extremely strong, any independent jury would be convinced by the evidence. There are several prominent historical and modern figures who began as sceptics and later became convinced of Jesus' resurrection. These include early figures mentioned in the New Testament:

Paul the Apostle: Before his conversion, Paul (then known as Saul) was a Pharisee who violently persecuted early Christians. He experienced a radical transformation after what he described as an appearance of the resurrected Jesus. This account is considered especially compelling by Christian apologists because it came from a dedicated opponent of the faith.

James, the brother of Jesus: During Jesus' ministry, his own family, including his brother James, did not believe he was the Messiah. Early historical sources indicate that James was converted after a resurrection appearance and later became a prominent leader of the Jerusalem church, eventually suffering martyrdom for his faith.

Thomas the Apostle: The Gospel of John describes the apostle Thomas as initially unwilling to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead unless he could personally see and touch his wounds. After Jesus appeared to him, he made one of the most direct confessions of faith in the New Testament, stating, "My Lord and my God". 

There are many more recent sceptics who looked at the evidence and became convinced such as:

Lee Strobel: A former investigative journalist for the Chicago Tribune and a self-proclaimed atheistic Jew, Strobel set out to use his journalistic skills to disprove the claims of Christianity. After extensive research and interviews with scholars, he became convinced by the evidence for the resurrection and converted to Christianity. He documented his journey in the book The Case for Christ.

Frank Morison: A British lawyer, Morison began writing a book intended to debunk the resurrection. As he meticulously examined the evidence, he was forced by the historical data to change his mind. He instead wrote Who Moved the Stone?, with its first chapter titled "The Book That Refused to Be Written," detailing why he became convinced of the resurrection.

Antony Flew: A well-known atheist philosopher for decades, Flew eventually converted to deism (the belief in a god based on reason, not revelation) after re-evaluating scientific and philosophical evidence. In a debate with Christian apologist William Lane Craig, Flew is cited as affirming that ‘the evidence for the resurrection is better than for claimed miracles in any other religion’. While Flew did not become a Christian, his dramatic shift away from atheism shocked many in the atheist community.

Lew Wallace: A Union general and lawyer, Wallace also set out to write a book that would disprove Christianity and the resurrection. However, his research had the opposite effect. He ended up defending the faith in his famous novel Ben-Hur, which became one of the most influential books of the 19th century. 

An excellent and convincing overview of this evidence can be found in the book by Gary Habermas and Michael R. Licona, ‘The Case for the Resurrection’.

By now Nabeel was in a quandary.  He had accepted the validity of the Christian Scriptures, which the Qur’an also affirmed.  He was sure from the evidence that Jesus had been crucified and that he had risen but his belief in Islam was so deeply ingrained in him that he could not change and commit himself to Christ.

His friend David Wood then challenged him to test the Qur’an as vigorously as he had tested the validity and teaching of the New Testament, using the same level of scepticism and search for historical truth.

This search disturbed him as he discovered many problems when the Qur’an was examined critically. Muhammad had died in 632 AD, so why are there no contemporary references to him.  Why are there no early manuscripts of the Qur’an? Why weren’t he direction of the Qiblas of early mosques pointing towards Mecca.  Why was the Qur’an written in Nabatean Arabic and not Sabaic, the text used around Mecca. Why is there no mention of Mecca in the 7th century and how could thousands live there where there was no water?  Why do coins of the 7th century have crosses on them?  Why does the Qur’an speak so much about Jesus? In the Quran, Jesus, known as `Īsā, is referred to by name 25 times but the total number of references to him is much higher when his various titles and descriptions are included. Some analyses suggest he is mentioned over 100 times indirectly. Islam corroborates that Jesus was born to a virgin, was sinless, performed miracles, and was superior to other prophets. It teaches that the Christian Scriptures are the word of God. Yet, Islam also teaches that Jesus was no more than a prophet. It denies the central message of Christianity by denying Jesus’ divinity, crucifixion, and resurrection.  Thus the Qur’an itself causes many problems.

The Qur’an is taught to be the exact unchanging word of God but Nabeel discovered that that could not be true.  He concluded,

“When you apply the same level of scepticism to any other world religion, Christianity comes out top every time.”

The problem of shame and punishment

Having been raised in a close Muslim family, Nabeel felt a great loyalty to his family and their traditions so found it very hard indeed to ‘come out’ as a Christian.  On top of that there is the law of apostasy in Islam.  All four schools in traditional Sunni Islam and all three major schools in Shj’a Islam teach that if you leave Islam you should, in certain circumstances, be killed. Islamic scholar, Abu’ala Maududi declares:

“To everyone acquainted with Islamic law it is no secret that according to Islam the punishment for a Muslim who turns to kufr (infidelity, blasphemy) is execution.”

Islamic law stipulates that:

“When a person who has reached puberty and is sane voluntarily apostasies from Islam, he deserved to be killed … There is no indemnity [expiation] for killing an apostate”.

Why should apostates be killed? Another Islamic scholar answers:

“Those Muslims who are weak in faith and others who are against Islam may think that the apostate has only left Islam because of what he has found out about its real nature.. So they learn from him all the doubt, lies and fabrications which are aimed at extinguishing the light of Islam and putting people off from it. In this case, executing the apostate is obligatory, in order to protect [Islam]…”

In other words, all opposition must be squashed by whatever means, even by killing.  What is significant is that the penalties are not being carried out by God himself, which he is well able to do, but Islam teaches that this responsibility has been delegated to men, which is surprising as God is all-powerful.

No wonder Nabeel was in a quandary.  If he came out as a Christian, his family life and social life would be irreparably damaged and his life would be at risk.  What should he do?

In Islam even prophets don’t communicate with God, they communicate via angels as intermediaries.  One way that Muslims expect to hear from God is through visions and dreams.

One day Nabeel prayed for God’s help:

“Tell me who you are! If you are Allah, show me how to believe in you. If you are Jesus, tell me! Whoever you are, I will follow you, no matter the cost”.

He requested a vision or dream to show him whether Christianity was really true. He did have a vision of crosses but dismissed this as a trick of his mind.  He then asked for a dream that would confirm the vision, stating,

“If the dream corroborates the vision, I will become Christian”. 

He subsequently had three meaningful dreams.  In the second dream he was standing outside a narrow arched doorway, just wide and tall enough for him to pass through.  This archway was 5 to 7 feet deep.  On the far side were several round tables all prepared for a feast, with people sitting around the food.  Everyone was in fine clothes and they were waiting for the owner to enter.  That room was definitely heaven.  Then he saw his friend David was blocking the way in, he couldn’t get past him.

“I thought we were going to eat together’

“You haven’t responded” David replied.

Nabeel just knew that he had not responded to Jesus’ invitation.  He then woke up.  He called David and told him the dream, asking what it meant.  David replied:

“This dream is so clear.  I don’t need to interpret it for you.  Just go to Luke 13:23-25.”

There Nabeel read these words, words he had never read before:

“Someone asked him (Jesus), “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.  Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’”

He knew this message was from God, God had told him plainly where he stood.  Nabeel responded - but only by asking for another dream!

A little later, when driving his car when he prayed,

“God, I know what I need to do but I need time to mourn.”

He went back to his apartment, took out both his Qur’an and his Bible and asked God to comfort him.  When he opened the Qur’an, looking for something to comfort him, he realised that there was not a single verse in the Qur’an designed to help a hurting man - not one.  He concluded,

“This book does not apply to my life”

He then took up the Bible he had been given and stated to read the New Testament, starting at Matthew chapter 1.  That was a genealogy so he skipped that.  He came to Matthew chapter 5 and read:

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

This phrase jumped of the page, Nabeel realised he said that for him.  Then he read on till he came to Matthew 10 where he read:

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.  But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:32-33

By this time Nabeel knew that the good news about Jesus was true but he had never openly acknowledged his commitment to Jesus.  But then the thought came to him:

“If I do this I will have to give up my family.”

He then read the next verses:

“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -  a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’

“Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.   Matthew 10:34-37

He then realised that he would put at risk not only his relationship with his family but also his whole life.  He read on:

“Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”  Matthew 10:38-39

He knew this was true, so he got on his knees and prayed

“Lord, I believe you are Jesus.  I thank you for taking my sins when you died on that cross and that you rose from the dead.  I want to follow you with my life.”

From that time on his life changed.  He began to see the world as Jesus did.  When he saw someone walking across the road he realised:

“That is someone Jesus was willing to die for.”

As a Muslim he had imagined God to be sitting on his distant throne.  This God would never deign to enter the world.  He was its judge.  But in contrast the Bible says that God was willing to enter into this world, live as a poor carpenter, live with people who would to betray him, was willing to go to his death nailed to a cross, to suffer and die for the sake of us sinners.  Such love!

Nabeel understood that the God who created this universe was willing to die for you and me.  He said:

“As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34

The gospel is not something you just hear and believe.  If it doesn’t change your life it hasn’t hit you yet.

Nabeel came to realise:

“This God is worth everything.  This story is worth sharing with our lives.  If we die today, serving our Lord, we will be taken care of.”

Nabeel went on to become a great advocate for his Lord.  His story is written in his book, ‘Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus.’

BVP

They Tried to Disprove the Resurrection

Above all other books combined, the Bible has been hated, vilified, ridiculed, criticized, restricted, banned, and destroyed, all because it challenges the wrong principles of many people’s lives.  Yet it has been to no avail.

In A.D. 303, the Roman Emperor Diocletian issued an edict to stop Christians from worshipping Jesus Christ and to destroy their Scriptures. Every official in the empire was ordered to raze the churches to the ground and burn every Bible found in their districts (Stanley Greenslade, Cambridge History of the Bible). Twenty-five years later Diocletian’s successor, Constantine, issued another edict ordering fifty Bibles to be published at government expense (Eusebius).

In 1778 the French sceptic Voltaire boasted that in 100 years Christianity would cease to exist, but within 50 years the Geneva Bible Society used his press and house to publish Bibles (Geisler and Nix, A General Introduction to the Bible, 1986, pp. 123, 124).

Robert Ingersoll (1833 – 1899), was nicknamed ‘the Great Agnostic’.  He was an American lawyer, writer, and orator during the Golden Age of Free Thought, who campaigned in defence of agnosticism.  He once boasted, “Within 15 years I’ll have the Bible lodged in a morgue.” However the opposite has happened, Ingersoll is dead, and the Bible remains alive and well.

In fact, many who set out to disprove the Bible have been converted, instead. The following are a few examples:

Gilbert West (1703-1756)

Gilbert West was included in Samuel Johnson’s Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets. As a student at Oxford, West set out to debunk the Bible’s account of Christ’s resurrection. Instead, having proved to himself that Christ did rise from the dead, he was became a Christian. West published his conclusions in the book ‘Observations on the History and Evidences of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ’(1747). On the fly-leaf he had the following printed: “Blame not before thou hast examined the truth.”

West concluded his book with these words:

“If Christ had not risen and proved himself by many infallible tokens to have risen from the dead, the Apostles and Disciples could have had no inducement to believe in him, that is to acknowledge him for the Messiah, the Anointed of God; on the contrary, they must have taken him for an impostor, and under that persuasion could never have become preachers of the Gospel, without becoming enthusiasts or impostors, in either of which characters it is impossible they should have succeeded, to the degree which we are assured they did, considering their natural insufficiency, the strong opposition of all the world to the doctrines of Christianity, and their own high pretensions to miraculous powers, about which they could neither have been deceived themselves, nor have deceived others. Supposing therefore that Christ did not rise from the Dead, it is certain, according to all human probability, there could never have been any such thing at all as Christianity, or it must have been stifled soon after its birth. This is a fact about which there is no dispute, but Christians and Infidels disagree in accounting for this fact. Christians affirm their religion to be of divine origin, and to have grown up and prevailed under the miraculous assistance and protection of God; and this they not only affirm, and offer to prove by the same kind of evidence, by which all remote facts are proved, but think it may very fairly be inferred form the wonderful circumstances of its growth and increase, and its present existence. Infidels, on the other hand, assert Christianity to be an imposture, invented and carried on by men. In the maintenance of which assertion, their great argument against the credibility of the Resurrection, and the other miraculous proofs of the divine original of the Gospel, founded in their being miraculous, that is, out of the ordinary course of nature, will be of no service to them, since they will still find a miracle in their way, namely, the amazing birth, growth, and increase of Christianity.  Which facts, though they should not be able to account for them, they cannot however deny. In order therefore to destroy the evidence drawn from them by Christians, they must prove them not to have been miraculous, by shewing how they could have been effected in the natural course of human affairs, by such weak instruments as Christ and his Apostles (taking them to be what they are pleased to call them, enthusiasts or impostors) and by such means as they were possessed of and employed.” (Observations on the History and Evidences of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, pp. 442-445).

George Lyttelton (1709-1773)

George Lyttelton was an English statesman, author, and poet who was educated at Eton and Oxford. Among other things he published a History of Henry II.

As a young man he set out to prove that Paul was not converted as the Bible states. However, as a result of his researches, he wrote a book containing evidence that Paul was indeed converted and that his conversion is evidence that Jesus rose from the dead. The book was titled ‘Observations on the Conversion and Apostleship of St. Paul’ (1747). Lyttleton observed that from an earthly perspective Paul had absolutely nothing to gain and everything to lose by testifying that he had seen the risen Christ. Giving up his position and prestige as a Jewish religious leader, he joined the despised Christian sect and was hounded, mocked, and persecuted for the rest of his life, finally paying the ultimate price for his Christian faith, death by beheading.

Lyttelton began his book with these words:

“In a late conversation we had together upon the subject of the Christian religion, I told you, that besides all the proofs of it which may be drawn from the prophecies of the Old Testament, from the necessary connection it has with the whole system of the Jewish religion, from the miracles of Christ, and from the evidence given of his Resurrection by al the other Apostles, I thought the conversion and the apostleship of St. Paul alone, duly considered, was of itself a demonstration sufficient to prove Christianity to be a divine Revelation. As you seemed to think that so compendious a proof might be of use to convince those unbelievers that will not attend to a longer series of arguments, I have thrown together the reasons upon which I suppose that proposition” (page 4).

The famous British lexicographer Samuel Johnson said “infidelity has never been able to fabricate a specious answer” to Lyttelton’s book.

He had, in the pride of juvenile confidence, with the help of corrupt conversation, entertained doubts of the truth of Christianity; but he thought the time now come when it was no longer fit to doubt or believe by chance, and applied himself seriously to the great question. His studies, being honest, ended in conviction. He found that religion was true, and what he had learned he endeavoured to teach (1747) by "Observations on the Conversion of St. Paul," a treatise to which infidelity has never been able to fabricate a specious answer. This book his father had the happiness of seeing, and expressed his pleasure in a letter which warrants quoting:–

“I have read your religious treatise with infinite pleasure and satisfaction. The style is fine and clear, the arguments close, cogent, and irresistible. May the King of Kings, whose glorious cause you have so well defended, reward your pious labours, and grant that I may be found worthy, through the merits of Jesus Christ, to be an eye-witness of that happiness which I don't doubt he will bountifully bestow upon you. In the meantime I shall never cease glorifying God for having endowed you with such useful talents, and giving me so good a son.

Your affectionate father,

Thomas Littelton."

Simon Greenleaf (1783-1853)

Simon Greenleaf, Royall Professor of Law at Harvard University, was one of the most celebrated legal minds in American history. His Treatise on the Law of Evidence “is still considered the greatest single authority on evidence in the entire literature of legal procedure.” 

As a law professor, he determined to expose the “myth” of the resurrection of Christ once and for all, but his thorough examination forced him to conclude, instead, that Jesus did rise from the dead. In 1846 he published An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the Courts of Justice. 

Thus, one of the most celebrated minds in the legal profession of the past two centuries took the resurrection of Christ to trial, diligently examined the evidence, and judged it to be an established fact of history! And this was in spite of the fact that he began his investigation as a sceptic. 

One of Greenleaf’s points is that nothing but the resurrection itself can explain the dramatic change in Christ’s disciples and their willingness to suffer and die for their testimony. 

Consider an excerpt:

“Their master had recently perished as a malefactor, by the sentence of a public tribunal. His religion sought to overthrow the religions of the whole world. The laws of every country were against the teachings of His disciples. The interests and passions of all the rulers and great men in the world were against them. The fashion of the world was against them. Propagating this new faith, even in the most inoffensive and peaceful manner, they could expect nothing but contempt, opposition, revilings, bitter persecutions, stripes, imprisonments, torments, and cruel deaths. Yet this faith they zealously did propagate; and all these miseries they endured undismayed, nay, rejoicing. As one after another was put to a miserable death, the survivors only prosecuted their work with increased vigour and resolution. The annals of military warfare afford scarcely an example of the like heroic constancy, patience, and unblenching courage. They had every possible motive to review carefully the grounds of their faith, and the evidences of the great facts and truths which they asserted; and these motives were pressed upon their attention with the most melancholy and terrific frequency. It was therefore impossible that they could have persisted in affirming the truths they have narrated, had not Jesus actually risen from the dead, and had they not known this fact as certainly as they knew any other fact. ... If then their testimony was not true, there was no possible motive for its fabrication” (Greenleaf, ‘An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence’).

Albert Henry Ross (Frank Morison) (1881-1950)

Albert Ross was a lawyer, journalist, and novelist who grew up in Stratford-on-Avon, England. He was deeply affected by the scepticism of the times, particularly the attacks on the Bible by theological liberalism and Darwinism. After becoming a lawyer he set out to write a book to disprove the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Instead, he was converted and wrote a book in defence of the resurrection entitled ‘WHO MOVED THE STONE?’ -- which is still in print today. He wrote the book under the name of Frank Morison.

“If you will carry your mind back in imagination to the late nineties [1890s] you will find in the prevailing intellectual attitude of that period the key to much of my thought. ... the work of the higher critics -- particularly the German critics -- had succeeded in spreading a prevalent impression among students that the particular form in which the narrative of His life and death had come down to us was unreliable, and that one of the four records was nothing other than a brilliant apologetic written many years, and perhaps many decades, after the first generation had passed away.

“Like most other young men deeply immersed in other things, I had no means of verifying or forming an independent judgment upon these statements, but the fact that almost every word of the Gospels was just then the subject of high wrangling and dispute did very largely colour the thought of the time, and I suppose I could hardly escape its influence.

“But there was one aspect of the subject that touched me closely. I had already begun to take a deep interest in physical science, and one did not have to go very far in those days to discover that scientific thought was obstinately and even dogmatically opposed to what are called the miraculous elements in the Gospels. Very often the few things the textual critics had left standing science proceeded to undermine. Personally I did not attach anything like the same weight to the conclusions of the textual critics that I did to this fundamental matter of the miraculous. It seemed to me that purely documentary criticism might be mistaken, but that the laws of the universe should go back on themselves in a quite arbitrary and inconsequential manner seemed very improbable. Had not Huxley himself declared in a peculiarly final way that ‘miracles do not happen,’ while Matthew Arnold, with his famous gospel of ‘Sweet Reasonableness,’ had spent a great deal of his time in trying to evolve a non-miraculous Christianity?

“It was about this time - more for the sake of my own peace of mind than for publication - that I conceived the idea of writing a short monograph on what seemed to me to be the supremely important and critical phase in the life of Christ - the last seven days - though later I came to see that the days immediately succeeding the Crucifixion were quite as crucial. The title I chose was ‘Jesus, the Last Phase,’ a conscious reminiscence of a famous historical study by Lord Rosebery.

“Such, briefly, was the purpose of the book I had planned. I wanted to take this last phase of the life of Jesus, with all its quick and pulsating drama, its sharp, clear-cut background of antiquity, and its tremendous psychological and human interest--to strip it of its overgrowth of primitive beliefs and dogmatic suppositions, and to see this supremely great person as He really was.

“I need not stay to describe here how, fully ten years later, opportunity came to study the life of Christ as I had long wanted to study it, to investigate the origins of its literature, to examine some of the evidence at first hand, and to form my own judgment on the problem it presents. I will only say that it effected a revolution in my thought. Things emerged from old-world story that previously I should have thought impossible. Slowly but very definitely the conviction grew that the drama of those unforgettable weeks of human history was stranger and deeper than it seemed. It was the strangeness of many notable things in the story that first arrested and held my interest. It was only later that the irresistible logic of their meaning came into view.”

The first chapter of this book ‘Who Moved the Stone?’ is titled “The Book That Refused to Be Written.”  In this chapter he explains, “I want to try, in the remaining chapters of this book, to explain why that other venture never came to port, what were hidden rocks on which it foundered, and how I landed to me, an unexpected shore.” 

Morison concluded that the only explanation that can satisfy all of the historical facts was that Jesus Christ actually rose from the dead.

William Mitchell Ramsay  (1851-1939)

William Ramsay was a renowned archaeologist and New Testament scholar from Scotland. He was knighted by the British crown for his work in archaeology.

He was raised an atheist, and as a brilliant student at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland and at Oxford University in England, he sat at the feet of theological modernists and skeptics who disbelieved the Bible. It was assumed that the Bible is not historically accurate and that it contains a large portion of mythology. It was thought that the book of Acts was not written until 150 A.D., about a century after the events it describes.

When Ramsay began archaeological and historical research in Asia Minor beginning in 1881, he expected and hoped to find more evidence against the Bible. Instead, he discovered fact after fact that supported the Bible. He eventually concluded that the book of Acts was written during the lifetime of the apostles and that it is historically accurate. His discoveries led to his conversion to Christianity.

"He had spent years deliberately preparing himself for the announced task of heading an exploration expedition into Asia Minor and Palestine where he would [find] the evidence that the book was the product of ambitious monks, and not the book from heaven it claimed to be. He regarded the weakest spot in the whole New Testament to be the story of Paul's travels. These had never been thoroughly investigated by one on the spot. Equipped as no other man had been, he went to the home of the Bible. Here he spent fifteen years digging. Then in 1896 he published a large volume, Saint Paul, the Traveler and the Roman Citizen. ... The book caused a furor of dismay among the skeptics of the world. Its attitude was utterly unexpected because it was contrary to the announced intention of the author years before. For twenty years more, book after book from the same author came from the press, each filled with additional evidence of the exact, minute truthfulness of the whole New Testament as tested by the spade on the spot. And these books have stood the test of time, not one having been refuted, nor have I found even any attempt to refute them” (Josh McDowell, The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, p. 62).

Ramsay testified:

“The present writer takes the view that Luke’s history is unsurpassed in respect of its trustworthiness. At this point we are describing what reasons and arguments changed the mind of one who began under the impression that the history was written long after the events and that it was untrustworthy as a whole” (The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament, 1915).

Viggo Olsen

The following is excerpted from “From Agnostic to Ambassador to Bangladesh,” Thanthropos.org:

Viggo Olsen was a brilliant surgeon who graduated cum laude from medical school and later became a diplomat of the American Board of Surgery and a fellow of the American College of surgeons. In 1951 he was challenged by his wife’s parents to examine the claims of Christianity for himself.

Olsen recalled, ‘

Just alike a surgeon incises a chest, we were going to slash into the Bible and dissect out all its embarrassing scientific mistakes.’

After he started his investigation he ran into problems. He remembers that he had trouble finding scientific mistakes. ‘We’d find something that seemed to be an error, but on further reflection and study, we saw that our understanding had been shallow. That made us sit up and take notice.’

After examining the evidence, Olsen became a Christian and later gave his life to be a missionary in Bangladesh. He was later honoured for his contributions to the country.

This is a man who was well educated, a brilliant surgeon, someone who was not willing to take a blind leap of faith, and after exhaustive research he was willing to admit, like so many others have, that the historic Christian faith is much more than a religion, it is based on a man who walked this Earth as the Theoanthropos, the God-Man. The evidence that supports the resurrection of Jesus is so overwhelming it demands a verdict and Christianity lives and dies by the fact of the resurrection--without it, Christianity does not hold water.

Olsen went from an agnostic to giving up his academic surgical career, to serve poor people in Bangladesh. Olson testified:

‘It was the greatest adventure we could ever have. When you’re in a hard place, when you’re in over your head again and again, when you’re sinking and beyond yourself and praying your heart out - then you see God reach out and touch your life and resolve the situation beyond anything you could have ever hoped. . .  That’s living it up! In my opinion, finding the purpose for which God made you - whatever it may be - and then fully pursuing it, is simply the very best way to live.’

Olsen tells the story of his life in his book titled ‘Daktar’.

Josh McDowell

Josh McDowell, the author of ‘Evidence That Demands a Verdict’, was a skeptic when he entered university to pursue a law degree. There he met some Christians who challenged him to examine the evidence for the Bible and Jesus Christ. Following is his testimony:

As a teenager, I wanted the answers to three basic questions: ‘Who am I?’ ‘Why am I here?’ ‘Where am I going?’  . . . So as a young student, I started looking for answers.

I thought that education might have the answer to my quest for happiness and meaning. So I enrolled in the university. What a disappointment! I have probably been on more university campuses in my lifetime than anyone else in history. You can find a lot of things in the university, but enrolling there to find truth and meaning in life is virtually a lost cause.

I used to buttonhole professors in their offices, seeking the answers to my questions. When they saw me coming they would turn out the lights, pull down the shades, and lock the door so they wouldn’t have to talk to me. I soon realized that the university didn’t have the answers I was seeking. Faculty members and my fellow students had just as many problems, frustrations, and unanswered questions about life as I had. A few years ago I saw a student walking around a campus with a sign on his back: ‘Don’t follow me, I’m lost.’ That’s how everyone in the university seemed to me. Education was not the answer!

Prestige must be the way to go, I decided. It just seemed right to find a noble cause, give yourself to it, and become well known. The people with the most prestige in the university, and who also controlled the purse strings, were the student leaders. So I ran for various student offices and got elected. It was great to know everyone on campus, make important decisions, and spend the university’s money doing what I wanted to do. But the thrill soon wore off, as with everything else I had tried.

Every Monday morning I would wake up with a headache because of the way I had spent the previous night. My attitude was, Here we go again, another five boring days. Happiness for me revolved around those three party-nights: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Then the whole boring cycle would start over again.

Around this time I noticed a small group of people on campus--eight students and two faculty--and there was something different about them. They seemed to know where they were going in life. And they had a quality I deeply admire in people: conviction. But there was something more about this group that caught my attention. It was love. These students and professors not only loved each other, they loved and cared for people outside their group.

About two weeks later, I was sitting around a table in the student union talking with some members of this group. ... I turned to one of the girls in the group and said, ‘Tell me, what changed your lives? Why are you so different from the other students and faculty?’

She looked me straight in the eye and said two words I had never expected to hear in an intelligent discussion on a university campus: ‘Jesus Christ.’

‘Jesus Christ?’ I snapped. ‘Don’t give me that kind of garbage. I’m fed up with religion, the Bible, and the church.’

She quickly shot back, ‘Mister, I didn’t say ‘religion’; I said ‘Jesus Christ.’

Then my new friends issued me a challenge I couldn’t believe. They challenged me, a pre-law student, to examine intellectually the claim that Jesus Christ is God’s Son. I thought this was a joke. These Christians were so dumb. How could something as flimsy as Christianity stand up to an intellectual examination? I scoffed at their challenge.

I finally accepted their challenge, not to prove anything but to refute them. I decided to write a book that would make an intellectual joke of Christianity. I left the university and traveled throughout the United States and Europe to gather evidence to prove that Christianity is a sham.

One day while I was sitting in a library in London, England, I sensed a voice within me saying, ‘Josh, you don’t have a leg to stand on.’ I immediately suppressed it. But just about every day after that I heard the same inner voice. The more I researched, the more I heard this voice. I returned to the United States and to the university, but I couldn’t sleep at night. I would go to bed at ten o’clock and lie awake until four in the morning, trying to refute the overwhelming evidence I was accumulating that Jesus Christ was God’s Son.

I began to realize that I was being intellectually dishonest. My mind told me that the claims of Christ were indeed true, but my will was being pulled another direction. I had placed so much emphasis on finding the truth, but I wasn’t willing to follow it once I saw it. I began to sense Christ’s personal challenge to me in Revelation 3:20: ‘Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.’ But becoming a Christian seemed so ego-shattering to me. I couldn’t think of a faster way to ruin all my good times.

I knew I had to resolve this inner conflict because it was driving me crazy. I had always considered myself an open-minded person, so I decided to put Christ’s claims to the supreme test. One night at my home in Union City, Michigan, at the end of my second year at the university, I became a Christian.

I said, ‘Lord Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross for me.’ I realized that if I were the only person on earth, Christ would have still died for me.’ ... I said, ‘I confess that I am a sinner.’ No one had to tell me that. I knew there were things in my life that were incompatible with a holy, just, righteous God. ... I said, ‘Right now, in the best way I know how, I open the door of my life and place my trust in You as Saviour and Lord. Take over the control of my life. Change me from the inside out. Make me the type of person You created me to be’ (Josh McDowell, “He Changed My Life,” The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Thomas Nelson, 1999, pp. xxv).

McDowell concludes:

“After trying to shatter the historicity and validity of the Scripture, I cam to the conclusion that it is historically trustworthy. If one discards the Bible as being unreliable, then one must discard almost all literature of antiquity.

“One problem I constantly face is the desire on the part of many to apply one standard or test to secular literature and another to the Bible. One must apply the same test, whether the literature under investigation is secular or religious.

“Having done this, I believe we can hold the Scriptures in our hands and say, ‘The Bible is trustworthy and historically reliable” (The New Evidence, p. 68).

Lee Strobel

Lee Strobel has a law degree from Yale University and worked as an investigative reporter for one of America’s largest newspapers, the Chicago Tribune. He was an atheist. After his wife became a Christian in 1979, he was upset at her decision and determined to prove that the Bible is not true and that Jesus Christ is not the Son God. For two years he pursued this objective, using all of his legal and journalistic skills, but in the end he had proved to himself that the Bible is the Word of God and Jesus rose from the dead. He became a Christian in 1981 and has since written many books defending the Christian faith.

“It wasn’t a phone call from an informant that prompted me to reexamine the case for Christ. It was my wife. Leslie stunned me in the autumn of 1979 by announcing that she had become a Christian. I rolled my eyes and braced for the worst, feeling like the victim of a bait-and-switch scam. I had married one Leslie--the fun Leslie, the carefree Leslie, the risk-taking Leslie--and now I feared she was going to turn into some sort of sexually repressed prude who would trade our upwardly mobile lifestyle for all-night prayer vigils and volunteer work in grimy soup kitchens.

“Instead I was pleasantly surprised - even fascinated - by the fundamental changes in her character, her integrity, and her personal confidence. Eventually I wanted to get to the bottom of what was prompting these subtle but significant shifts in my wife’s attitudes, so I launched an all-out investigation into the facts surrounding the case for Christianity.

“Setting aside my self-interest and prejudices as best I could, I read books, interviewed experts, asked questions, analyzed history, explored archaeology, studied ancient literature, and for the first time in my life picked apart the Bible verse by verse.

“I plunged into the case with more vigour than with any story I had ever pursued. I applied the training I had received at Yale Law School as well as my experience as legal affairs editor of the Chicago Tribune. And over time the evidence of the world--of history, of science, of philosophy, of psychology--began to point toward the unthinkable” (Lee Strobel, ‘The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus,’ 1998, p. 14).

Strobel became convinced that the Bible is true and that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He has written many books defending the Christian faith, including ‘The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus’ and ‘The Case for the Resurrection.’

BVP

These short biographies were adapted from www.wayoflife.org/reports/men-who-were-converted-disprove-bible-pt1.php

“Can a person be right with Almighty God?”

This question was asked by a patient who had disseminated cancer and did not have long to live, “Can a person be right with Almighty God?”. It is an age old question - similar questions are asked three times in the book of Job, possibly the oldest book in the Old Testament:

“Can a mortal man be more righteous than God.  Can a man be more pure than his maker?” Job 4:17

“But how can a mortal man be righteous before God?” Job 9:2

“How then can a man be righteous before God?  How can one born of a woman be pure?” Job 25:4

Can this question be answered?  Certainly it can, this what the word ‘gospel’ or ‘good news’ means?  This is the message Jesus brought and passed on to us through his apostles’ writings, this message is indeed ‘good news’ for every person who is willing to listen to Jesus.

There is Good News

When Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, a group of Christians he had not yet met, he was answering this same question.  It was this message from God that Paul longed to share with as many people as possible.

“I long to see you that I may impart some spiritual gift to make you strong . . . That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.” Romans 1:11-15

The gift he wanted to share was knowledge, the good news about Jesus.  This knowledge is vital as it is through a response to this that people can become right with God – or in other words made ‘righteous’.  Paul continues,

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.  For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed . . .” Romans 1:16-17

A lady who was dying came to understand the gospel for the first time and she committed herself to the Lord Jesus.  When visiting her in the local hospice I wanted to emphasise God’s ‘good news’ or gospel for us.  I wrote her name on a piece of paper and opened my Bible.

“Let the Bible represent the Lord Jesus.  You now belong to him because you have committed yourself to him.  You are now ‘in Christ’.”

I closed the Bible hiding the paper with her name on it within its pages.

“Now when God looks at us he does not see our sin, the good we have failed to do as well as the wrong things we have done, instead he only sees the righteousness of the Lord Jesus.  We now share in Christ’s righteousness.  Furthermore, because Jesus is now in heaven, as we are in him, we also will join him in heaven.”

I then shared with her that great verse on assurance that shares the sense of security that God wants all Christians to have,

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus . . .” Romans 8:1

The Bad News

What a tragedy it is for the Christian message to be summarised as ‘God is love’, forgetting that he is also a holy, righteous God.  My wife and I attended a funeral of a man who was known to be antagonistic to the Christian faith, yet his funeral was in a church.  The vicar told us that the last time the man had been in the church was at his wedding over fifty years before.  The vicar went on,

“But now he is back with us and his spirit has gone to a better place to be with the God who loves him!”

That is not the message of the Bible.  The Lord God hates all rebellion against him and his Son.  The fate of those who reject his rule is hell, according to Jesus and his apostles.

So often people think there is another way to please god and say such things as,

“I try to live a good life.”

“I’ve never done anyone any harm.”

“I’m not a sinner!”

“I’m a religious person!”

In the next section of Paul’s letter to the Romans he corrects such misunderstanding.  In God’s eyes we are all sinners, no-one reaches God’s standard.  It is because of this that we all need a Saviour.  The good news is that a Saviour has come.  Being religious is not an answer.  However religious a person may be, they still fall short of God’s standard of perfection.

Paul continues to explain that religious Jews have the same problem as heathen Gentiles, in God’s eyes we are all sinful people and therefore we all need a Saviour.

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.  For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last” Romans 1:16-17

Until we grasp how much God hates our sin we can never understand the ‘good news’.  Paul continues,

“For the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” Romans 1:18

This section in Paul’s letter (Romans 1:18 – 3:20) keeps emphasising this ‘bad news’.  He emphasises what the Old Testament teaches,

“There is no-one righteous, not even one: there is no-one who understands, there is no-one who seeks God.” Romans 3:10-11

Religious and irreligious people have the common problem:

“There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:22-23

The great preacher, Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones, has stressed this fact,

“No man can be a Christian without recognising his utter hopelessness.”

The Very Good News

Straight after this depressing section describing the plight of all people comes the exciting phrase,

“But now . . .” Romans 3:21

There is a solution to our problem.  All true Christians have had a ‘But now’ experience.  Paul likes to use this phrase as it reveals the radical change that takes place when we accept the gift of God’s righteousness by being ‘in Christ’. Here are a few examples:

“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.” Romans 6:22

“But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” Romans 7:6

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” Ephesians 5:8

“But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation . .” Colossians 1:22

How can I become right with God?

Paul now gives us us God’s answer.  This summarises the gospel, it explains how we can be seen by God as righteous:

“21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.

22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—

26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Romans 3:21-26

This passage has been described as:

“ . . . possibly the most important single paragraph ever written.”

Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones said,

“It is no exaggeration to say of this section that it is one of the greatest and most important sections of the whole of Scripture.”

Note what ii says.  Righteousness is a gift, given to those sinners who are following Jesus.  True Christians are now, at this present time, considered by God to be justified (just as if I’d never sinned!) because of what Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Man did ‘once for all’ for us on that cross.

The whole Bible is clear that, however exemplary our lives are, we still fall far short of God’s righteous standards and so we all need a Saviour.  Our religious devotion and our good deeds can never qualify us to join with the presence of God.  Trying to keep God’s law, to obey religious rules, is doomed to be an inadequate solution.

Martin Luther was a devoted monk who came to realise that all his efforts to live in a religious, godly way were a failure.  He had been taught that God’s righteousness meant that God condemned sinners and Luther recognised that that was where he stood.  He had tried hard to satisfy God by his religious devotion and the way he lived but still his conscience gave him no rest.  In his autobiography he wrote,

“Though I lived as a monk without reproach, I felt that I was a sinner before God with an extremely disturbed conscience. I could not believe that he was placated by my satisfaction. I did not love, yes, I hated the righteous God who punishes sinners, and secretly, if not blasphemously, certainly murmuring greatly, I was angry with God, . . . and also by the gospel threatening us with his righteousness and wrath!

Thus I raged with a fierce and troubled conscience. Nevertheless, I beat importunately upon Paul at that place, most ardently desiring to know what St. Paul wanted. At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words, namely,

“In it the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written, ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live.’”

There I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith. And this is the meaning: the righteousness of God is revealed by the gospel, namely, the passive righteousness with which [the] merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written, ‘He who through faith is righteous shall live.’ Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates. There a totally other face of the entire Scripture showed itself to me.”

What joy and peace such an understanding of this gospel brings us.  This righteousness in not something I can achieve by the way I live but it is a status that God has given me because I now belong to him and his Son.  Luther understood that by trying to keep God’s law it was not possible for anyone to enter into a right standing with God.  The only remedy for our plight is what Jesus, the Son of God, has done for us.  Jesus gives the status of being righteous to all those who personally commit themselves to him – it is only by being in such a relationship that forgiveness can be given to us.

A repeated message

This is the repeated message throughout the Bible and it is one that every church should be teaching.  What we do cannot satisfy God but Jesus has won the right to present us holy because we have turned, repented, and now follow him:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God —  not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

Grace is the kindness of God that we do nor merit.  Salvation is a gift of God because we belong to his Son.  Jesus died to be our substitute.

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

We are given this status of being ‘righteous’ because we are ‘in him’, that is we now belong to Jesus.

“But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,  whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour,  so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:4-7

Note the tenses used here.  We have been saved, we have been justified because we belong to the Lord Jesus.  This is very different to belonging to a church.  Church membership cannot save us.

A young lady visited my clinic wearing a beautiful silver cross round her neck.  After sorting out the medical question I said,

“Excuse me asking, but I was admiring your cross.  Does that mean that you are a Christian?”

“Yes, I have been baptised - - but it depends on what you mean by a Christian!”

“Surely the Bible teaches that a Christian is someone who is sold out to the Lord Jesus.”

“Oh!”  and then after a pause she said, “Then I’m not!”

Being a Christian is not an insurance policy that a person takes on ‘just in case’ by going through the rites of being baptised or confirmed.  Putting my faith in the Lord Jesus, trusting him for my salvation, is the beginning of a radical new life, lived for his ends and his glory.  If that effect is not present then it is unlikely that a person is yet saved.

BVP