Good Afternoon!
I am an English Christian and I feel what it comes down to is who you personally think the historical Jesus Christ was?
Is he who he clearly says he is in the bible over and over again? Is the Bible a load of rubbish or as you might say trash? Did Jesus lie? Or is there a completely new gospel we should listen to??
It's a choice we all have to make and its so important for all of us because our immortal souls depend on it!
For me the Bible is the infallable word of God and I think that God protects his word and so I trust in the Bible totally. I am going to put in a link to a site which shows many bibles so you can compare them side by side if you want to so you can check any of my quotes are in the bible. I tend to quote the NIV or the ESV but You can flick through many versions very easily on this site if you choose.
The bible comparison siteAlso Jesus changed some of the rules of the old testament and gave us a new covenant. For me Jesus is God so thats ok for me! Its blasphemy for Muslims and it was considered so by the Jewish people in his time too which is why the bible says he was executed. For a Jew to go around forgiving sins, rasing the dead and claiming to be God sounded outrageous. It is though isn't it? Its an amazing and shocking claim and he says he is God and accepts the title from others in the bible many many times. Was he mad? A liar or what? Or do we need to turn to a completely new gospel other than the Bible?
In the Bible Jesus does many things to indicate who he is. It is not just in his words but in his actions he shows that he is God over and over again. He also says he is God. If we read the book with an open mind I think it's very clear.
Mark 8:27
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
Mark 14 chapter 60-65;
Again the high priest asked him "Are you the Christ, 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."
Jesus answers 'I am' many times in the bible when he is asked who he is. This is important because in the Torah in Exodus 3 it says:
'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.'"
In John 20:25-29 Thomas doubts that anyone has really seen Jesus alive after his crucifixion:
But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
The Old testament Prophet Zachariah wrote that that someone with salvation would arrive in Jerusalem/Zion on a colt please read link:
Zechariah 9:9:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey
Jesus fulfilled this deliberately by arriving in Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey. Please see link.
Mark 11Mark 1:11:
And a voice came from Heaven 'you are my beloved son who I love and with whom I am well pleased.'
John 20:25:19 says:
"Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
Luke 5:17-20 One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."
The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, "Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
Mark 8:33 This is my beloved son listen to himIn John 11:25 Jesus says:
"I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
Luke 4:14:21
"Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the spirit, and news about him spread through the countryside. He taught in the synagogues, and everyone praised him.
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went to a synagogue, as he was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me
because he has anointed me
to preach the good news to the poor
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for
the prisoners
and recovery for the sight of the bind
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's
favor.
Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.'" The Jews listening were very angry. Jesus quotes over and over again from the old testament in the new testament.
Isaiah 61 to prove Jesus is quoting from the old TestamentJesus says he came to fulfill that prophecy with his own lips. The choice of if you choose to accept him as God who he claims he is again and again through words and his actions is yours.
I believe that Jesus behaves with Gods authority and power. But the choice of what you believe is yours alone.
The bible does not need anyone to defend it because it speaks for it self like a roaring lion! Truly it does and I challenge you to open it up and read it! As for its corruption because it has been translated well pick up two versions and read them side by side yourself! I do not need to defend Gods word he does that perfectly well without my help!
The next point made is difficult simply because it is not my intention to upset anyone.
I type these words with compassion in my heart and tears in my eyes. These are NOT my words these are the words of the Holy Bible:
Galatians 1:6 (The author of this letter is Paul and it is about a first century church who are still following old testament rituals, especially circumcision. In this letter Paul is saying that faith in Christ is what matters.)
"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel- which is no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be eternally condemned. As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted let him be eternally condemned!'
Proof this is in the bibleThe words are not mine. I am not attempting to score points or to be nasty. Muslims are quite right when they say the Bible is a dangerous document. It changes lives and that makes it powerful.
I expect to pick up my cross and follow Jesus and by that I mean I expect to be hated and punished for my faith . Jesus talks about this in John 15:18-21
"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.'
Thanks for giving me the chance to talk about Jesus Christ Truth Finder! It has been my pleasure!
May God bless you
Nicky
This post has been edited by nicky2000: Mar 4 2012, 09:20 AM