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This section covers some of the questions one might have regarding God and Christianity.
People are baffled by Christians who claim to believe in the Bible as the only
Word of God when there are so many other "holy books" in the world.
Christians believe that the Bible is God's word to man. Meaning that from cover
to cover, from Genesis to Revelation, the book is God's whole counsel to man
and that it is without error in whole and in part. Are Christians fools, naive,
or just ignorant? Or are there solid evidences that convinced them beyond a
shadow of doubt that the Bible is the Word of God. Let's examine why they
believe the Bible is truly the Word of the living God.
- The Testimony of the Reliability of the Manuscript
When the Bible is carefully examined like any other historical book for its
authenticity, the evidence of its reliability surpasses all other historical
documents. The bibliographical test, an examination of the textual transmission
by which documents reach us, concludes that the New Testament's reliability is
greater than any other record of antiquity. This is evident by the enormous
number of manuscripts (more than 24,000), the very short time span between the
original and the other manuscripts, and the very small variations between the
manuscripts. These textual variations are trivial in nature and do not alter
any of the teachings from the Bible. The Old Testament's reliability stems from
Jewish scholars who were known for copying with great care and discipline, the
Dead Sea Scrolls (dated 125 BC) which shortened the time span between the
original and copied manuscripts, Septuagint (dated 250 BC) and other
translations of the Hebrew.
- The Testimony of the Unity within the Bible
One of the most amazing things about the Bible is that although it was written by over 40 men of different backgrounds over a period of 1500 years, it is not a hodgepodge, conglomerate of books. On the contrary there is a remarkable unity from cover to cover, an underlying and consistent theme: "God's redemption of man through the Messiah."
- The Testimony of the Bible writers
The prophets who recorded the Old Testament testify that the Scriptures are the Word of God (2 Sam. 23:2, Isa. 1:1, 8:1, Jer. 1:4, Eze. 1:3, Dan. 2:28, Hos. 1:1, Joel 1:1, Hab. 2:2, Mal. 1:1). The apostles who recorded the New Testament testify that the Scriptures are the Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17, 2 Pet. 1:19-21, 1 Cor. 11:23-24, 15:1-4, Gal. 1:11-12, 1 Thess. 2:13). Both of these groups wrote as eyewitnesses or from first-hand information. Furthermore, these are competent primary sources for the original manuscripts were written shortly after the events. Archeological findings confirm the authors' descriptions of the history of that time.
- The Testimony of Fulfilled Prophecy
There are numerous prophecies in the Old Testament that have been fulfilled concerning specific kings, nations, empires, etc. These prophecies were often foretold hundreds of years in advance. These fulfilled prophecies testify that the Bible is the Word of God: Prophecies concerning the dispersion of the Jews (Deu. 28:63-65); the desolation of Nineveh (Nah. 3:1-6, Zeph. 2:13-14); the desolation of Babylon (Isa. 13:19-22, Jer. 51:37), the desolation of Egypt (Ezek. 29:15, Jer. 46:19-20, Ezek. 30:16). Furthermore there are over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament (written well before 400 BC) of the coming Messiah that are all fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The chances are 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (1017) that one man could fulfill even just 8 of these Old Testament prophecies. 1 in 10157 that one man could fulfill even 48 of these Old Testament prophesies. Yet Jesus Christ fulfilled over 300! We can say with full assurance that Jesus is the Christ and that the Bible is God's Word. It is interesting to note that Islam has no (zero) such prophecies of Mohammed; nor does the Hindu faith or any Old other faith or cult. The Bible stands alone.
- Testimony of the Martyrs
Many people who lived during the times of Jesus upheld the gospel's accuracy by using it to strengthen the Church. The Founding Church Fathers used the gospel in defense of Christianity even if it meant death. And many were martyred for their faith. For many centuries, countless men testified fearlessly that the Bible has done exactly what it said it would do when certain conditions were met (Jn. 7:17).
In conclusion, the testimony of the reliability of the manuscript, the testimony of the unity within the Bible, testimony of the authors, testimony of the martyrs, the testimony of fulfilled prophecy, and the testimony of Jesus Christ overwhelmingly affirms the Bible as the Word of God. Lastly, the testimony of an individual who have experienced a life change through the result of believing in the Bible and trusting Jesus Christ supports the Bible as God's Word. The Scripture makes it very clear that the Holy Spirit, who dwells in the believers, testifies many spiritual things to us and convinces us that the Bible is the Word of God (1 Cor. 2:13-15, 1 Jn. 5:6).
People are constantly asking, "What's so special about Christianity?" "Is Jesus the only way to God or do all the major world religions point to the same God?" To questions like these, Christians assert that there is no other way to God, except through Jesus Christ. Because of this, Christians are accused of being narrow-minded. Many believe all religions are basically the same. They assume that the different faiths are all talking about the same thing, even though they use different names. However, Christianity believes that Jesus Christ is only way to God. Therefore, let us examine the uniqueness of Christianity.
- Unique view of God
Among all the main religions of the world, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, (which believe in the Old Testament of the Bible) are the only major religions that believe in a monotheistic God. All the other religions in the world believe in polytheistic or pantheistic gods. Furthermore, even though many other religions, like Taoism, teach that god is an impersonal energy, the Bible teaches that God is a personal being who has a special relationship with humanity. And this Christian view of God is superior to other religions, and even some atheists acknowledge the superiority of the Christian view of God.
- Unique claims of Jesus Christ
Among all the leaders of the major religions, including Mohammad, Buddha, Confucius, Lao-tzu, no one else made claims like Jesus. He claimed to be God, claimed to be sinless, claim to have authority over Satan, illness and even death, and claimed to be born of the virgin, and claimed to be resurrected from death. These claims of Jesus separate Him from leaders of other religions.
- Unique view of salvation
All other major world religions, like Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Judaism, teach that we must perfect ourselves in order to be saved. However, only Christianity teaches that people will never earn heaven or deserve a right relationship with God. It is because man is a sinner, and he cannot save himself (Rom. 3:23). Therefore, Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and rose from the grave to save us (Isa. 53:6). Only the saving faith in Jesus Christ can be the basis for forgiveness of sin and life everlasting (Ac. 16:31). That is why it is impossible for anyone to reach heaven by his own deeds-apart from Jesus Christ. However, other religions believe that if people live good lives, and if the good works they do outweigh the bad, then they will have earned their way to heaven. However, this approach to personal salvation has logical problems. For example, if we prepared an omelet with five good eggs and one rotten egg, we do not get a omelet with four good eggs, but get a rotten omelet. Just like this, we cannot mix good deeds and bad deeds, and hope that we will be good enough to enter into the heaven. Therefore, these illustrations show that only Christianity has proper view of sin, justice and righteousness.
- Unique view of Scripture
The Christian Bible was recorded by many different people over a long period of time. However, there is unity within the Bible unlike any other religious scripture of the world, and it tells us that its ultimate author is God. Furthermore, archaeological discoveries have done much to prove the truth of the biblical record. Moreover, no other religious scriptures have so many recorded fulfilled prophecies like the Bible. Before the events occurred and before anyone could have known what would happen, the prophets foretold historical events. Events like the dispersion of the Jews (Deu. 28:63-65), the desolation of Nineveh (Nah. 3:1-6, Zeph. 2:13-14), the desolation of Babylon (Isa. 13:19-22, Jer. 51:37), the desolation of Egypt (Ezek. 29:15, Jer. 46:19-20, Ezek. 30:16) are prophesied, and these fulfilled prophecies testify that the Bible is the Word of God.
In conclusion, all religions do not describe the same thing in the different ways because they teach many things that are completely different from one another. The God of Christianity is not the same God as that of other religions. Therefore, if the God of the Christianity is the only true God, then all other gods are false gods. As the Scripture declares, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
For twenty centuries, the doctrine of Christ's person has been a debated. To this day men are divided on the question, "Who is this Jesus?" Some say He is Christ, the son of the living God; others say He is a good moral teacher or a prophet; still there are others who say malicious things about Him. With such a wide spectrum of disagreement concerning Jesus, we must seek the truth to end this confusion. For if He is God manifest in the flesh, the effect of such a self-disclosure of God to men is profound; if He is not God, the implications are devastating and the total fabric of the Christian faith is jeopardized. What better place to seek the truth than the Word of God itself.
- The Eternal Pre-existence of Christ
Any honest man must conclude, after a search of the Word of God, the Bible, that the written record asserts that Jesus exists eternally. There are many passages that testify this fact. Isaiah 9:6 says, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." John 1:1-2 states, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning."
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Jesus' Testimony Concerning His Deity
Besides the testimonies of other people concerning Christ's deity, Jesus also testified that He is God Himself. In John 10:30, He says, "I and the Father are one," which is a clear declaration of who He is to His audience. Also in John 8:58, Jesus proclaimed to a Jewish crowd, "I tell you the truth, . . . before Abraham was born, I AM!" In this verse Jesus was referring His listeners back to Exodus 3:13,14, where God revealed His name to Moses saying, "I AM WHO I AM...This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM [Yahweh in Hebrew] has sent me to you.'" There are many more references to His claim that He is God (Mt 11:27, Mk 14:61-64, etc.). Either Jesus' testimony concerning His deity is true or else He was a liar and a deceiver. People have two choices: either fall at His feet and worship Him or declare Him to be the arch-deceiver of men.
- The Divine Attributes Ascribed to Jesus
There are attributes that are only found in God and none other. We as finite human beings are limited in what we can do and be, but God does not have this limitation. The Bible makes it very clear how to distinguish the real God from a false one. All one has to do is to look at the ascribed attributes. These are the divine attributes ascribed to Jesus:
A. Holiness-to be set apart from the rest (Heb 7:26; Jn 8:46; 2Co 5:21)
B. Eternal (Isa 9:6; Mic 5:2; Jn 1:1-2; Col 1:17)
C. Omnipotence-all powerful (Mt 28:18; Heb 1:3; Mt 11:27)
D. Omniscience-all knowing (Jn 16:30; Mt 9:4; Col 2:3)
E. Omnipresence-all present (Jn 1:18; 3:13; Mt 28:20; Eph 1:23)
F. Immutability-not changing (Heb 1:11-12; 13:8)
G. Ability to create (Col 1:16-17; Jn 1:3; 1Co 8:6)
H. Ability to forgive sins (Mk 2:5-10; Lk 24:47; Jn 1:29)
I. Right to be worshipped (Mt 8:2; Php 2:10)
- Messianic Prophecies Fulfilled In Jesus
One credential often overlooked is the fulfillment of prophecy in His life. In the Old Testament there are sixty major messianic prophecies and approximately 270 ramifications that were fulfilled in one person, Jesus Christ. And these are:
A. His Lineage. Beginning with Noah's son, Shem, God effectively eliminated the vast majority of the population when He declared continuously throughout each generation until David's generation that the Messiah would come from the line of David (Ge 9:26-27; 12:1-3; 15:4-5; 17:6,21; 28:13-15; 35:10-12; Nu 24:17; Isa 11:1; 2Sa 7:12-13; Jer 23:5). Just as the prophecies predicted, Jesus came from the line of David (Mt 1:1-17).
B. His Unnatural Birth. It was prophesied that the Messiah must be born from a virgin (Isa 7:14), and this was fulfilled when Jesus was born (Mt 1:22-23).
C. His Birthplace. God eliminated all the cities of the world and selected Bethlehem, with a population of less than a thousand, as the Messiah's birthplace (Mic 5:2). This prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Mt 2:5-6; Lk 2:4).
D. His Birth and the Temple. The Messiah must come while the Temple of Jerusalem is still standing (Ps 118:26; Zec 11:13; Hag 2:7-9). This is of great significance when we realize that the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. and has not since been rebuilt.
E. His Death. His own people, the Jews, will reject Him and the Gentiles will believe in Him (Isa 8:14; 28:16; 49:6; 50:6; Ps 22:6-7; 118:22). The prophecy indicated that this man's hands and feet will be pierced (Ps 22:12-18; Zec 12:10). It also indicated that the messiah will be betrayed by a friend for thirty pieces of silver that will be cast onto the floor of the temple, and used to buy a potter's field (Zec 11:11-13; Mt 27:3-10).
F. His Resurrection and Ascension. His resurrection from the dead and His ascension to heaven was both prophesied and fulfilled (Ps 16:10; 68:18; Mt 28:7; Ac 1:9).
If Christ's deity is denied, then one must conclude that He bore false witness. This indicates that He was a liar and thus a sinner Himself. He would then have needed someone to atone (pay) for His sins; and obviously could not have atoned for ours. The Bible itself would be an unreliable witness of God's Word, and it would profess to reveal a system of religion founded on error rather than on truth. Furthermore, the denial of Christ's deity leads to a denial of the supernatural in general. These would include the virgin birth of Christ, His physical resurrection, and His miracles, etc.
In conclusion, the Christian faith cannot be separated from its component parts without destroying the whole. It stands or falls in its entirety. Remove one vital pillar and the entire structure crumbles to the ground. The deity of Christ is a pillar, the absence of which effectively invalidates the faith.
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