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Heaven > How Do We Know God Exists?
HOW DO WE KNOW GOD
EXISTS?
When the critic says there's no God he's basing
this on his own insight, and unless he has insight into 100% of all
knowledge he can never be sure he's right. But when the Christian says there
is a God he's basing this on the fact that God has revealed Himself to the
world in the person of Jesus Christ - the image of the invisible God (Col.
1:15) - and His works have been recorded for us in the Bible.
But how do we know that the biblical account of Jesus is accurate? We know
because Jesus' coming was predicted in the Old Testament, recorded for us in
the New Testament and we can use non-Christian sources to test
Christianity's claims.
THE OLD TESTAMENT: CHRIST'S
COMING PREDICTED
The life of Jesus was told in advance in the Old Testament. Here is a brief
look at what was foretold about Jesus. These are just highlights, there are
hundreds of prophecies that were predicted and fulfilled by Jesus"
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THE SAVIOR WOULD BE BORN IN
BETHLEHEM: "O Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the
thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be
Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.
(Micah 5:2)
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THE SAVIOR WOULD BE GOD
HIMSELF: "Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given. And the
government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!
(Isaiah 9:6)
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HE WOULD BE A SACRIFICE FOR
OUR SINS: "Surely He has borne our grief and carried our sorrows; Yet we
esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded
for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. (Isaiah 53:4)
"By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall
bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the
great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong. Because He poured
out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And
He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors."
(Isaiah 53:10-12)
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THE SAVIOR WOULD BE
RESURRECTED: "For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow
Your Holy One to see corruption. (Psalm 16:10)
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HIS SACRIFICE WOULD BRING US
PEACE WITH GOD: "The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His
stripes we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)
THE
NEW TESTAMENT: CHRIST'S COMING RECORDED
Then we get to the New Testament and find that Jesus fulfilled the Old
Testament prophecies.
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JESUS WAS BORN IN BETHLEHEM:
"Joseph [and Mary] went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into
Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem… so it was, that
while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered."
(Luke 2:4,6)
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JESUS WAS BORN OF A VIRGIN:
"Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall
call His name Jesus. Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since
I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy
Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow
you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the
Son of God. (Luke 1:31,34-35)
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JESUS IS GOD: "And they shall
call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." (Matthew
1:23)
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JESUS WAS A SACRIFICE FOR OUR
SINS: "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give
His life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:28)
-
JESUS' SACRIFICE BROUGHT US
PEACE WITH GOD: "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting
life." (John 3:16)
-
JESUS WAS RESURRECTED: "He is
not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in
Galilee." (Luke 24:6)
NON-CHRISTIAN SOURCES TELL THE SAME STORY
Now let's examine Christianity's claims against non-Christian sources.
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The OT prophesied a Messiah or
Savior would come. The NT claims Jesus was a historical figure.
Non-Christian historians such as Josephus wrote that Jesus Christ was a
real person.
-
The OT prophesied that the
Savior would be born of a virgin. The NT records that Jesus was born of a
virgin. The Koran admits that Jesus was born of a virgin and the Talmud,
which is a collection of Jewish commentaries, hint at Jesus unusual
birth..
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The OT prophesied that the
Savior would perform miracles. The NT records many of Jesus' miracles. The
Talmud reports that Jesus performed miracles (although they say His power
came from Satan).
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The OT prophesied that the
Savior would be crucified and that He would be raised from the grave. The
NT tells us Jesus was crucified for our sins and that He rose three days
later. Letters from Roman officials tell us that Jesus was crucified, His
body was missing, and that His followers believed He was raised from the
grave and worshiped Him as God.
WHAT THE NON-CHRISTIAN
SOURCES TELL US
So, using sources outside the Bible sources that were either hostile or, at
best, indifferent to Christianity we discover that Jesus Christ was a real
person, He was born of a virgin, He performed miracles, He was put to death
on a cross, buried, His body is missing and people thought He was God --
everything that the Old Testament predicted. Outside sources tell us what
happened to Jesus. The Bible tells us not only what happened, but why it
happened.
WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS?
History tells us that Jesus was crucified for claiming to be God. The
ancient Jewish commentaries admit that He performed miracles. Rome admits
they can't find His body. More has been written about Him than about anyone
else in history. His autobiography -- the Bible -- is the world's all-time
bestseller. He has changed the lives of billions. We measure history in
terms of how many years it's been since He walked the earth. People react to
the mere mention of His name with either joy or hatred. He is unique in all
of history.
Now, we've presented some facts that provide evidence that Jesus is God, but
when it comes to accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, it's more of an issue
of the heart then the mind.
Charles Spurgeon put it best when he said, "every man must serve somebody:
we have no choice as to that fact. Those who have no master are slaves to
themselves. You will either serve Satan or Christ. Either self, or the
Savior. You will find sin, self, Satan, and the world to be hard masters;
but if you wear the uniform of Christ, you will find Him so meek and lowly
of heart that you will find rest unto your souls."
Jesus said that He stands at the door of our hearts and that if anyone
answers He will come in. It's our prayer is that you will invite the Savior
into you life.
- To Accept Jesus Christ As Your Savior
http://www.biblestudyplanet.com/good.htm
- Who Is Jesus?
http://www.biblestudyplanet.com/s5.htm
- The Messiah
http://www.biblestudyplanet.com/s158.htm
- 100 Things You Need To Know About Jesus
http://www.biblestudyplanet.com/s91.htm
- Bible Prophecies About Jesus
http://www.biblestudyplanet.com/says14.htm |