“If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” That’s usually good advice. But there are exceptions. Someone does win the sweepstakes. Some people do land job offers that are far better than they thought possible. Wise people are careful. But as RBC staff writer Bill Crowder points out in the following pages, thoughtful people are not blindly cynical. With due caution and realistic optimism, we have reason to ask questions about spiritual beliefs which, if true, lead to personal discoveries that are far better than we ever thought possible. Martin R. De Haan II, President of RBC Ministries
On June 17, 1966, two men were arrested outside Paterson, New Jersey, for the murders of two men and a woman at Paterson’s Lafayette Bar & Grill. One of the two men arrested was Rubin “Hurricane” Carter—a boxer who had been a serious contender at the middleweight level. Carter and his friend, John Artis, were tried. On May 27, 1967, they were found guilty of murder and sentenced to three consecutive terms of life behind bars.
Nine years later the New Jersey Supreme Court overturned the convictions of
Carter and After another 9 years, on November 7, 1985, Judge H. Lee Sarokin of Federal District Court in Newark, New Jersey, overturned the second trial convictions. Judge Sarokin ruled that he original convictions were based on “racism rather than reason, and concealment rather than disclosure.” The trials of Rubin Carter show the importance of questions like: “What if it’s true?” “Who are you going to believe?” “What does the evidence really say?” But there are other areas, outside the courts, where even more is at stake.
For 2,000 years, much of the world has seen Jesus of Nazareth as the founder of one of the world’s major religions. Many have also seen Him as a provocative teacher and good moral example.
But history doesn’t give us the luxury of thinking that Jesus was merely So, what were Jesus’ claims?
JESUS CLAIMED TO BE MORE THAN A MAN Regarding Jesus’ willingness to describe Himself as more than a man, Thomas Schultz wrote:
Is that possible? What’s the proof? The four Gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) provide different perspectives but a shared conclusion that the overall pattern of Jesus’ life is unexplainable if He wasn’t who He claimed to be. They say that in addition to fulfilling prophecy and living a life of unparalleled wisdom and character, Jesus performed . . .
How is such a life to be weighed 2,000 years later? One thing is clear.
Jesus’ life had a According to William Robinson:
JESUS CLAIMED TO BE A SAVIOR Only after His execution would followers see His willingness to die in the light of a comment made by His forerunner. Three years earlier they heard a rugged prophet of the wilderness, known as John the baptizer, say about Jesus, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn. 1:29).
In retrospect, it seems reasonable to conclude that Jesus saw Himself as a
sacrificial lamb. For thousands of years the religious law of Israel had been
requiring the death of innocent animals on altars of sacrifice. According to hundreds of eyewitnesses, Jesus did die—and 3 days later He left the tomb alive. Also, consider the following evidence:
C. S. Lewis, Cambridge University professor and former atheist, observed with his usual candor:
For years the game show that everyone seemed to watch was Jeopardy. Later it was joined by Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
The format of the second game show is simple: Answering increasingly
difficult questions brings an increasingly larger payback. Some of the questions
are basic (“Did Hannibal cross the Alps with elephants or llamas?”), but others
are more intense (“Who was the first $100,000 winner on Star Search?”). The
lights flash, the audience tenses, and the Many of us find it entertaining to watch someone else sweat in an effort to get rich quick. Yet we also know that the questions the contestants have to ponder—no matter how intriguing—are not in themselves all that important. The really important questions are those that haunt us in the darkness as we lie in bed trying to sleep—questions that eat at our hearts because we sense that our lives and relationships, our work and our health, our hopes and our happiness all hang in the balance. But what if the most published book in the world has answers to our most troubling questions? What if the Bible offers us all three of our lifelines in a show called Who Wants To Have Lasting Peace And Joy? Now let’s take a look at three questions that many of us wrestle with in the depths of our souls. Then we’ll take a look at the answers the Bible provides.
IS THERE HOPE FOR MY FAMILY?
Such biblical principles are not rocket science. We expect computer users who never follow the instruction manual to have lots of problems. What should we expect if the Bible really has God’s answers for healthy relationships? Husbands, do you want to alienate your wife and drive a wedge in your marriage? Then don’t give yourself for her, don’t give her the dignity and respect she deserves. Don’t pay any attention to the biblical instruction to love her as Jesus loves His church. Wives, do you want to drive your husband away? Then don’t give him the loving, supportive partnership that God’s Word, the Bible, describes. Parents, do you want your children to despise you and everything you stand for? Then be inconsistent, unfair, and unrealistic in your expectations. Try to dominate them without genuinely loving them. Ignore the biblical direction about giving them loving, consistent discipline that does not provoke them to anger. Children, do you want your home to be a place of anger, frustration, and constant turmoil? Then disregard and disobey your parents. Totally forget the debt of gratitude you owe them for giving you life and caring for your needs.
CAN I FIND PURPOSE FOR MY LIFE? Read these moving words that have been attributed to a Columbine High School student shortly after the mass murders there:
Those words are as insightful as they are scary, but is that all there is? A
song from the 60s Is there no hope? If the bible can be believed, there is hope! Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (Jn. 10:10). Jesus offers us more than answers. He offers us himself.
CAN I KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN AFTER I DIE?
It is for this kind of anxiety that the apostle John wrote:
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the
Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life (1 Jn. 5:13).
John said This is the discovery that John embraced—that Jesus came into the world to save those who had wandered away from their Creator, and that all who believe in Him can find:
With all the uncertainty in this life, how amazing it would be if the bible has the answers we need.
Many young boys growing up in the 50s had two heroes: Davy Crockett and Zorro (both courtesy of the Wonderful World Of Disney). If you remember the story of Zorro, part of his mystery was that he wore a mask and created a false persona to cover his activities for the good of others. Most of the time Zorro was the somewhat delicate, timid Don Diego—a front to cover his identity as the swashbuckling hero of the victims of wicked villains. In order not to blow his cover, he wore a mask when he was Zorro. In the Bible there is a Greek word that means “to hide behind a mask,” but it is not a word that has noble connotations. It is the word hupokrites, from which we get our English word hypocrite. In ancient times it spoke of actors who displayed changes of emotion by changing the masks they held in front of their faces. What they portrayed was ultimately unrelated to who they were—for their real self was hidden by a mask.
The issue of masked men (and women) lies behind one of the most common
reasons for rejecting Christ and the church. We’ve all heard the criticism,
“Church people are Here are a few classic statements about this supposed hypocrisy:
Are the charges true? Far too often the answer is yes. The people of Christ all fall short of their ideals. Their walk doesn’t consistently match their talk. And this does have a profoundly damaging impact on those who are watching and wondering if Jesus has anything genuinely good to offer. It’s important, therefore, to look honestly at some misconceptions about the church—and try to set the record straight.
WHAT THE CHURCH IS NOT
Paul’s words remind us that followers of Christ are not attainers; they are becomers. No one achieves perfection in this life. At best, people of the church seek to keep growing spiritually while, as Paul wrote, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). Not everyone in the church is a believer. Observers of the church need to understand the difference between the church as a social institution and the church as the true “body of Christ.” People have all sorts of different motives for attaching themselves to the church without personally accepting the truth about Jesus Christ for themselves. Some do so for family or business reasons. Some use the church as a cover for their sin, with no intention of embracing the forgiveness and life-changing love of Christ. This was true even among Christ’s disciples:
No one in the church is as good as Christ. The best examples of the church still fall far short of the goodness demonstrated by Jesus. Once again we find such honest disclosure in the apostle who wrote so much of the New Testament. In his letter to the church at Rome, the apostle Paul admitted:
The implication is clear. On the inside at least, followers of Christ still
battle with selfish The church needs to honestly say to the watching world, “You are right. The followers of Christ all fall far short of the example of their Lord.” Yet, as we’ve seen, these patterns of inconsistency are what the Bible teaches us to expect.
WHAT THE CHURCH IS True followers of Christ are marked by what they believe about themselves and their Savior. Throughout their lives, they entrust themselves to One who has done for them what they could never do for themselves. While having every reason to want to live with the attitudes of Christ, they depend on His willingness to qualify them for acceptance with God. Those who believe in Christ are on a journey of personal growth that is meant to last a lifetime. At best they live out their years learning from the Bible, from the Spirit of God who lives within them, and from other spiritually mature people who have discovered for themselves what it means to rely on Christ.
We must continually remember that no living follower of Christ has arrived.
All are “on the road,” healthy or unhealthy, and with more or less of a desire
to experience the Believers are people who have found forgiveness and hope in a sinful world. At their best, the people of the church are not super-spiritual. They certainly are not super-deserving. They are simply rescued people. When they are healthy, they live with the attitude of the apostle Paul, who wrote:
At one time, followers of Christ had felt guilt; now they understand the joy of being forgiven. Once they felt lost; now they know they’ve been found. Once they felt fear of death; now they know peace. Why? Not because of their efforts, but because they had been rescued by Jesus Christ. Believers are people who are imperfect representatives of Christ. C. S. Lewis wrote these helpful words:
WHAT THE CHURCH IS OFFERING US The Founder of the church does not make offers based on what others have or haven’t done, but on what He Himself has done for us. The apostle Paul explained what Jesus did for us in these words:
The
The Founder of the church doesn’t just promise hope beyond the grave, He offers new life now:
Trusting the Founder of the church opens the door to an eternal life where no one will be disappointed:
Not too long ago the American public was introduced to a television program called Who Wants To Marry A Multimillionaire? It turned out to be a beauty pageant with only one judge (the proposing groom who was hiding behind a screen). The prize was marriage to a multimillionaire. There were all the normal trappings of a pageant, complete with a host and a swimsuit competition. The pack of “contestants” was whittled down from thousands to the 50 who made the show, to the 10 semi-finalists, then the 5 finalists. It ended with a wedding right there on stage. (The prenuptial agreements were signed beforehand.) It was a truly bizarre evening of television viewing. In the midst of the craziness, however, there were two comments that seemed especially significant. One of the contestants said, “It’s really not about the money.” And the alleged multimillionaire stated, “We are all here because we have been unlucky at love, and we are hoping something magical will happen.” If we take those comments at face value, the program symbolized the risks some people are willing to take for a relationship that offers to meet their needs with money, with romance, or with notoriety. At the very least, such cultural “indicators” remind us of what we all are looking for. We all long for meaningful relationships—to give and receive love, to experience and share intimacy, to care and to be cared for. Yet too many go through life without ever entering into a satisfying, significant relationship. Too many find their lives marked by an emptiness that fills them with profound sadness.
But French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal declared that within every human being, our Creator has placed a “God-shaped void” that only God Himself can fill.
The good news, according to the Bible, is this: Although we desperately and
passionately desire to have a relationship with God, He has already worked out a
plan to make such a relationship possible.
WHO THE CREATOR IS
Who is this that created all things? In verse 15 He is identified as the
“image of the invisible God” (the God we can see). In verse 13 the writer is
more specific. The Creator is “the Son of His love.” According to the Bible,
Jesus Christ is not only the Son of God, He is also the Creator of the universe!
Let’s consider other Scriptures that say the same thing:
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that
was made (Jn. 1:3).
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him (Jn. 1:10).
Yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we
for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through
whom we live (1 Cor. 8:6).
[God] has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has
appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds (Heb. 1:2).
The Bible is clear in claiming that our Creator did the unthinkable. He came to us in the person we know as Jesus Christ.
WHAT THE CREATOR DID
Every December the Western world celebrates the birth of God’s Son into the
world. Most gift-givers, however, don’t realize the significance of the event
behind this holiday. Many of the celebrants The idea that God was among us is more important than any of us can absorb. If it is true, then we can only scratch the surface of the thought that the little one bundled up in that crude stable manger was in fact our Creator. Yet this is the claim of the Bible:
God didn’t just come, check things out, and then return to a better place. He lived here, placing Himself under the conditions, sufferings, and temptations we all live with.
HOW THE CREATOR LOVES
How has the Creator displayed the depth of His care and concern for us? Recording for us the vision he had from Jesus Christ, John declared simply, “He loves us.” In another letter, the same author wrote:
From other Scriptures we learn more of what this love means. For example, consider the following: He released us from our sins by giving His own blood for us. This is the message of Hebrews 2:9.
He According to the Bible, the Creator of the universe went to the cross and died for our sins so that we could be made right with God.
What a powerful thought—the Creator hanging on a cross, dying for people who were living on death row under the sentence of eventual judgment and death. He gave His life so that others could live, not in their own merits but by the merits of the perfect One who died in their behalf.
He made us a kingdom of priests. In the Old Testament, there were
three offices in
These In his book The Call, author Os Guinness writes:
After his conversion from atheist to believer, C. S. Lewis looked back on his
journey to faith in Christ and discovered that “God closed in on me.” He wrote:
Amiable agnostics will talk cheerfully about “man’s search for
God.” To me, as I then was, they might as well have talked about the mouse’s
search for the cat (Surprised By Joy, p.179).
Yes, The great Christian prime minister of the Netherlands, Abraham Kuyper, declared,
Why? Because He is the Creator, and He is merely claiming that which He Himself has made.
Someone once said, “Life is like a wild goose chase—without the goose.” The
search for a truly loving relationship can be like that. In the midst of the
search, however, a book as trustworthy as the Bible assures us that the Creator
of the universe cared so much for us that He came seeking after each of us.
In a world
It’s very hard to think this must have happened by chance. . . .
You realize at the same time that there had to be a Master Designer, a Creator
of this planet. And to me that makes life all the more special. Because that
tells me that instead of me being something that just came along in the course
of time to live and die, that instead of a meaningless existence, I have
Someone—who cares for me—who has made me and cares about me. Someone I can go
to with my troubles, and my cares, and my joys.
What if it’s true? If Jesus is who He claimed to be, if the Bible has answers
to our most important questions, if the church is more than hypocrites, and if
the Creator really does care for us, then everything now depends on our
willingness to trust Him. If Jesus is God in the flesh, then apart from Him we
will never know real joy, real meaning, or real peace in life. He is our Creator
and He seeks a personal relationship with us. Have you responded to His
sacrificial love with faith and accepted His invitation to everlasting life,
forgiveness, and peace?
Carefully consider what the Bible says:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For
God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but
he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in
the name of the only begotten Son of God (Jn. 3:16-18).
Here’s a list of books and Discovery Series booklets that will supplement and
enhance the concepts discussed in this booklet:
BOOKS
The Call by Os Guinness (Word Publishing, 1998)
Following Christ by Joseph Stowell (Zondervan, 1998)
Christ Among Other Gods by Erwin W. Lutzer (Moody Press, 1997)
What Angels Wish They Knew by Alistair Begg (Moody Press, 1999)
The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict by Josh McDowell (Nelson,
1999)
Jesus: Lord And Savior by F. F. Bruce (InterVarsity Press, 1986)
The Empty Cross Of Jesus by Michael Green (InterVarsity Press,
1984)
How You Can Be Sure That You Will Spend Eternity With God by Erwin
Lutzer (Moody Press, 1996)
Unriddling Our Times by Os Guinness (Baker Book House, 1999)
Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis (Harper, 2001)
First Love by John MacArthur, Jr. (Victor Books, 1995)
|
Artis. The judges unanimously ruled that the prosecution withheld
evidence favourable to the defense. So they ordered a new trial. Later in the
same year the two were again found guilty and the same sentences re-imposed.
a
great teacher or good moral example. The evidence suggests that if He was not
who He claimed to be, then Jesus was guilty of crimes against humanity. If He
wasn’t speaking on behalf of our Creator, then He was either a very sick or evil
man.
What’s the
evidence that this great spiritual leader really was God?
profound effect not only on contemporaries who were
willing to die for Him, but on the whole course of history. 
All the while,
mysterious statements of Jewish prophets referred to Messiah who would Himself
bear the sin of fallen humanity. Yet the meaning of a suffering Messiah (Gen.
3:15; Isa. 53; Dan. 9:26; Zech. 12:10) would remain a mystery until after the
death of Jesus.
In all of these amazing events, Jesus Himself doesn’t make it easy
for us. When He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through Me” (Jn. 14:6), He didn’t leave us with many options.
He does not allow us to think that He was just “a good teacher” or “a moral
model.”
claim to be
God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and
said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He
would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached
egg—or else He would be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either
this man was, and is, the Son of God—or else a madman or something worse. You
can shut Him up for a fool; you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or
you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up
with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has
not left that open to us. He did not intend to (Mere Christianity,
p.41). 
kettledrum
rolls—while contestants agonize over who invented the cheese grater or
pasteurized milk. The program guests carefully use their “three lifelines” as
host Regis Philbin asks, “Is that your final answer?”
They are more
important than that. If the Bible can be trusted, disregarding its principles
will diminish our chance for true peace and joy. Why? Because if God created the
family, He is the One best equipped to tell us how to make it work!
by Peggy Lee says, “If that’s all there is, then let’s
keep dancing—let’s break out the booze and have a ball—if that’s all there
is.”
that he knew Jesus before His death on the cross—and after He rose
from the dead. If John is telling us the truth, he heard Jesus say that all
those who place their trust in Him will one day live with Him forever (1 Jn.
1:1-3).
hypocrites. They pretend that they’re wonderful, kind, and
loving people, but they really aren’t.” Those who claim to be followers of
Christ are accused of saying one thing and living another. Their religious
declarations are thought by many to be merely a false face, a mask to hide
behind so others don’t see them as they really are: bigoted, narrow,
mean, and self-cantered.
desires, temptation, and their own failure to be what they
want to be.
Christ—those who are “believers.” John 1:12 says: As many as
received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who
believe in His name.
difference that the Spirit of Christ wants to make in their
lives.
people a difficult obstacle to get over. They may also
wonder whether they’ve been too bad to be forgiven. But none of us can afford to
let the personal failures of others or ourselves ruin our future.
Founder of the church does not make offers based on what we
have or haven’t done for ourselves, but on what He Himself has done. As the
Bible says to those who have already received Christ:
it’s not just the need for relationship that hounds us. It’s the
need for a meaningful relationship with our Creator. 
As amazing as it
may seem, the Bible assures us that our Creator desires a relationship with us
as well. To understand how we can have a personal relationship with this One who
has a personal interest in us, consider the following points:
might not even
realize that, according to the original story, Jesus was born into our world as
“the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). 
removed the barrier that prevented us from a relationship with our
Creator. If we believe what the Bible says, God has not abandoned us; we
have abandoned Him. 
the leadership of the kingdom of Israel: king, prophet, and
priest. Interestingly, the New Testament not only calls Jesus our Creator, but
our King, our Prophet, and our Priest. The implication is that we do not need
any other mediator between God and us except Jesus Christ.
thoughts are not from just any book. They are from the Bible. They
tell us that our Creator Himself died for our sins to bring us back into the
“lost relationship” of Eden. That’s the essence of Jesus’ words, “The Son of Man
has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Lk. 19:10). And He says to
each of us, “Follow Me” (Lk. 9:23).
the seeking is real—but who seeks whom? The Creator of the universe
is seeking you! To be sure, that’s an imposing thought.
of loneliness, despair, and rejection, the Bible offers hope and
encouragement. In the words given to a blind beggar named Bartimaeus: “Cheer up!
. . . He’s calling you” (Mk. 10:49 NIV). Yes, the Creator cares for you! With
that awesome truth in mind, consider the words of astronaut Guy Gardner, who
said this about what he learned when he saw the marvels of the created universe
in outer space: