How then can one arrive at an informed,
rational decision as to the truth of a matter if certain evidence is denied
unprejudiced consideration? For if an individual has presupposed something to
be impossible based on a priori biases, then the truth can never be
determined by that person – even if all the supporting evidence in existence
is placed before him.
Furthermore, an honest investigation
requires that one does not merely read about a subject – even less so from
those with (real, imagined or fabricated) axes to grind; rather, one should
study the source material oneself.
Christians are sometimes castigated for
being ‘anti-science’ if they deny unbiblical theories such as Darwinian
macro-evolution. They are told that they should adapt their thinking according
to the scientific ‘facts’ of today.
Many of these very same people
castigate those within the Church four hundred years ago when they did abandon
the Bible in favour of the science of its day, i.e. Ptolemaic cosmology,
when joined with the Aristotelian Universities in rejecting the findings of
Galileo.
The point is that ‘science’ (in modern
times oft-established by opinions and prejudices of scientists) is as
ever-changing as sand on the beach whilst the Word of God is as resolute as the
bedrock that this same sand seeks to cover. We would rather build our house on
foundations that the test of time has proven to be solid and trustworthy than
that which would be swept out from under us tomorrow.
Not everything which is real can be
quantified such as love, thoughts, numbers or even logic; therefore it is
fallacious to conclude that (alleged) absence of evidence is evidence of
absence. Simply because we cannot directly perceive something does not
necessarily negate the possibility that one can come to know of its existence.
(In any case, to say that one cannot know for sure is self-defeating as such a
statement necessarily requires omnipotence for it to be true, just like
outright denial.)
True Biblical faith, however is not, as
some claim, ‘blind’, but rather is trust based on a foundation which has over
the centuries, even to this day, withstood the harshest scrutiny that man has
subjected it to – the type of scrutiny that most of these same people would
never apply to their own worldview lest they be forced to concede that it is
they who, ironically, are living by blind belief.
The historicity of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection rests on such bedrock of truth that has withstood centuries of harsh scrutiny. Let’s consider its myths and truths.
Detractors of the historicity of the death and resurrection of Jesus theorize that Jesus did not die on the cross but merely swooned. Other theories posit that someone else died in His place. Hence, Jesus was not raised from the dead since He did not die. Still others theorize that Jesus did die, but remained dead and did not arise again. Instead sometime in the night, His disciples stole away His body.
There were extra-Biblical and Biblical witnesses
One of the basic principles of historical research is that if an enemy or hostile witness affirms an historical claim, then this is an indication of the historicity of that claim. Since this (i.e., that Jesus died on the cross and rose again in three days) is what secular anti-Christian writers record that early Christians believed and since it corresponds to New Testament teaching about Christ this is then, manifestly, the content of apostolic faith.
Thousands of early Christians, including the Apostles who testified as witnesses of the resurrected Christ, died for their belief in the resurrection of Christ. This, of course, rules out the myth and conspiracy theories of the resurrection, because the Apostles would never have died for a lie that they themselves had concocted.
Paul Althaus of the University of Erlangen, Germany, states: “The resurrection could not have been maintained in Jerusalem for a single day, for a single hour, if the emptiness of the tomb had not been established as a fact for all concerned.”
What is the evidence for the empty
tomb? All knew where the tomb of Christ was (just a short walk outside the
walls of Jerusalem): the Jews, the Romans, the disciples, Joseph of Arimathea,
and Nicodemus. They all knew.
The Roman guard was to protect the tomb
with their lives; therefore the body was not ‘stolen’. If the disciples had
stolen the body they would have known that the resurrection was a fraud and
would never have been willing to die for what they knew was a lie.
If the tomb was not empty, either the Jewish officials or the Romans would have produced the body of Jesus to silence forever the preaching of the resurrection and Christianity never would exist today. Historian, Ron Sider, concluded that, “if the Christians and their Jewish opponents both agreed that the tomb was empty, we have little choice but to accept the empty tomb as historical fact.”
The cover-up of the resurrection begins with the bribery of the guards. In Matthew 28: 12-15, we read: “And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers, saying, ‘Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him [away] while we slept. And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.’ So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.”
1. This cover-up attempt shows the depravity of the elders or priests; they know the truth of the resurrection, yet they reject it.
a) If the guards or soldiers were asleep, how would they know that it was the disciples that stole the body of Jesus away?
In conclusion, the attempts to discredit the truth of the resurrection all fall short, since they simply do not hold up under scrutiny.
What are you going to do about this
Jesus, whose resurrection proves He is the Son of God? Will you be one of the
many who will enter by the wide gate that leads to condemnation and
destruction? Or will you be counted among those who will choose to enter the
narrow gate that leads to life?
It is written that it is appointed for
us to die once and, then, face judgment for our every thought, deed and word.
The bad news is that all our ‘good’ and even ‘religious’ works and motives will
not save us: “For it is by God’s grace that you have been saved, through faith.
It is not the result of your own efforts, but God’s gift, so that no one can
boast about it” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
This means that (although good in
itself and recommended) it is not by attending ‘church’, being baptized or even
believing in God (Satan is not an atheist himself!) that we are saved. To put
it plainly, we are saved by faith and demonstrated by good works – but it isn’t
the works themselves that actually save us. “His choice is based on His grace,
not on what they have done. For if God’s choice was based on what people do,
then His grace would not be real grace” (Romans 11:6).
You see, religion is humanity trying to
reach God by its own effort whilst Christianity is God paying the price Himself
– in essence, reaching down to us. It is a relationship with our Creator.
Furthermore, Isaiah 64:6 states: “All
of us have become like one who is unclean, and ‘all our righteous acts are like
filthy rags.’”
Did you note that it isn’t just our sins that are filthy to God but even our righteousness? You see, God’s standard is Himself, for He is the epitome of holiness and purity. “God is Light and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Therefore, to a pure, holy and perfect God, any sin/darkness would naturally be alien and repugnant to Him.
Humanly speaking, it is impossible for us to be saved. That is why God demonstrated His love for us by becoming human as the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Ten Commandments and other laws are designed to show us that we are sinners and there is no way any human can keep all of them. For example:
How many things do you have to steal (regardless of value) in order to be a thief? Just one.
How many lies do you have to tell (no matter how ‘big’ it is) to be a liar? Just one.
So how many sins does it take for us to be a sinner? Just one.
These were just two of the Ten Commandments and every one of us has broken them all! “For whoever shall keep the whole law and stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10).
Therefore, if you are trying to live by
the law (trusting in good deeds) you shall die by it; for it is humanly
impossible to keep it consistently and perfectly.
Since every single person is a sinner,
that is, we have all rebelled against God, so, every single person is doomed to
an eternity in the Lake of Fire – separated from light and love forever.
It doesn’t have to be this way though –
God loves us so much that He supplied a solution.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Jesus, being fully God and Man, was the
only One who could be perfect and keep His own commandments. And since He did,
He satisfied the Law and, then, on the cross He bore the punishment of our sins
– all of them, past, present and future. He, then, rose again to show that He
had conquered death for us and, as a promise to all those who trust in His
sacrifice for our sins, they, too, will rise from the dead and into eternity
with God. This is the Gospel of Grace.
To be saved, you need to make a genuine
confession to God Himself. No priests or any other ‘holy men’ are required. You
must confess that you are a sinner and helpless to save yourself; that you
believe that Jesus did, in fact, die for your sins, then came to life again;
and that you want Jesus to change you into the sort of person God wants you to
be.
You need to be truly repentant, that
is, genuinely willing to turn completely away from the life you used to live
and allow yourself to be led by Jesus instead.
If you have done this, you are what the
Bible describes as being ‘born-again’ (John 3:3). You are saved.
You may not ‘feel’ any different, but
that doesn’t matter – you have God’s promise now that you are saved. [We must
never put our trust in ‘feelings’, in any case, since the human heart is
incurably wicked and deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9)].
You will still stumble on your path but God says, “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
†
