Jesus ~ Who Do You Say He Is?

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:13-16)

If you are here today (and you are) then I assume that you, at least, have some desire to seek spiritual things. You have some interest in seeing if what I have to say holds water and has some ability to affect your life for the good. That being said, I want to tell you that I have had many very deep discussions with people lately regarding "religion", tolerance, truth, God, and the person Jesus Christ. I have spoken to people who call themselves "Christians", to three very pleasant Jehovah's Witnesses, to a kind and gentle follower of the Bahai faith, and pastors of a mainline Christian denomination and I am confident in this fact: We do not all follow the same Jesus.

Regardless of who you are or where you are in your faith walk, you will have to answer the same question. "Who do you say that he is?" Even if you're an atheist, you have to answer the question. Your answer may be "I don't really care." but everyone will answer. Does it really matter? Well, hmmmm, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes. Why? You might ask. Can't we all just believe what we want and leave it at that? Well, sure, we can. This is America and we have the right to believe what we want, worship who and what we want, or not worship at all. But, I for one don't want to follow, put my faith in, or trust my life to a lie or a fable. Let me give you an analogy that I hope will make this tangible and clear.

There was once a small group of hikers enjoying a beautiful walk through a pristine mountain forest when they became lost. After a few days and nights they were becoming very hungry. But they had noticed, as they wandered, many mushrooms of different shapes, colors, and sizes.

Hiker number one (Christian) pointed out that according to his book of edible forest foods, only one type of mushroom in these woods was fit to eat. All the others would cause death. "It says right here that the Wala Wala mushroom is the only one that will sustain us in our hunger and that, even thought the others look good and some look like the Wala Wala, they ultimately will not satisfy our hunger but will lead to death."

"Bah humbug!" Shouted Hiker number two (Pluralist). "All mushrooms are the same and are good for the body. Stop being so intolerant of mushrooms. Who are you to say one mushroom is better than another? That book of yours is not factual. I read it myself and decided to just see the good in all mushrooms. The other parts of the book, those that were unpleasant, I just blacked 'em out with a Sharpie. Get a grip! I love all mushrooms and if you weren't so narrow minded you would see that they're all beautiful in their own way."

"You're both crazy! All mushrooms are dangerous and should be avoided at all cost. Everyone that I know who got caught up in the whole "mushroom eating" thing went nuts and some even became obsessed with mushrooms. That book is hogwash! I'm not touching any mushrooms or reading that silly book!" Exclaimed Hiker number three (Atheist).

So Pluralist, assuming that all mushrooms were the same, picked five of the most pleasant looking mushrooms, mixed them together into a fine mushroom salad and began to eat.

Christian picked a handful of Wala Walas and roasted them over a small fire then began to eat.

Atheist sat there refusing to eat and time went by.

When the mountain rangers found the group, only one man was alive, Christian.

OK, before you shoot me for being another intolerant religious guy, let's look at this practically. In real life there are mushrooms that are good to eat and others that will kill you. It's truth. Does it matter what you believe about mushrooms? No! Even if you sincerely believe that you can eat a handful of Amanita phalloides mushrooms (also called Death Caps), you will likely die a painful death. What matters is not our ideas or our emotions but the truth. I have been really amazed that intelligent people can believe that all beliefs can be true even if they claim different things. It is nonsensical. We have to at least meet at the place where we agree that all things can't be true. We can be tolerant of each other's beliefs and love each other (by the way, I do you all) but let's be reasonable. God can't both exist and not exist at the same time. God can't be a piece of carved wood and an all powerful spiritual being at the same time. Jesus can't have risen from the dead and not risen. Black can't be white and a square can't be a circle. Truth just is.

Jesus Christ ~ Who do people say that he is?

Some would say he was a fictitious character who never really lived. To them I would say that there is more historical evidence for the life of Jesus Christ than any other person in ancient history. There are more than 24,000 ancient manuscripts of the New Testament which have been discovered and many extra-biblical writers spoke of Jesus of Nazareth including Josephus (c. AD 37-101) and Tacitus (c. AD 115).

Some would say that he was just a fine religious leader who taught us how to live a good life. But Jesus didn't leave us that option. He claimed to be coequal with God the Father. He claimed to be the only way to the Father. He stated that he came to die for the sins of man. He rose from the dead. He claimed to be the Only Son of God.

As I have pointed out in my last two posts, the answer to the question, "Who do you say I am?" matters. The Bible (which I believe is reliable and will answer any questions you have about that) tells us that Jesus is God in the flesh. He is God made man who ultimately came to save us not from war, poverty, and division but from our own sin. The Old Testament testified about him but many, including many "Christian" leaders see the Old Testament as a history book written by men with political agendas. But Jesus said these words in John Chapter 5, "If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?"

Jesus came to bring life, to bring restoration in our relationship with God the Father, to make us new creations, to give us everlasting life, to take away our guilt and shame, to reveal to us the amazing love of the God who created us. Jesus is not just one of many fine men who told us to hold hands and make world peace. He is the creator and sustainer of all things.

Please, if you have any doubts or questions about who he is and what he means to you, drop us an email or a comment on the Blog. Don't for a minute let anyone convince you that Jesus is any less than this. He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Not just for me but for all.

Lastly, if anyone feels compelled to help us in the spreading of the Gospel, there is a "Donate" button on the Blog Home Page. It is tax deductible.

Peace and Joy,

David and the I-61 Project

Jesus ~ The Way

Hey Friends, I know it's not Saturday and I just posted to the Blog a few days ago but I wanted to share with you a dialogue that took place on Larry King Live on March 11, 2003. It was around the question, "What would Jesus do about the war in Iraq?" This conversation highlights the issue I brought up in last week's post. I want to state for record, that I agree whole heartily with John MacArthur. There is only one God and one Savior through whom we have access to the Father and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Regardless of what the Ecumenical Officer of the United Methodist Church (Bishop Melvin Talbert) claims, Jesus is the only way to the Father. That is not my claim but the claim of Jesus himself. Here is the conversation that took place between Larry King, John MacArthur, Max Lucado, and Melvin Talbert.

King: Saddam says he prays.

MacArthur: Saddam Hussein? I'm sure he does.

King: He prays five times a day. He believes he's right. He must be praying to something.

MacArthur: Well, it's the wrong God unfortunately. There is only one true and living God, and that's the God of the scripture. The God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. And if you aren't praying to that God, you are praying to no one.

King: He doesn't believe that. How do you deal with that? His belief may be as strong as your belief.

MacArthur: You could believe that you could fly and jump off a five-story building. It doesn't make it real. Unfortunately, false religion is the ultimate deception...

King: is the Muslim world all false?

MacArthur: Well, the theology of Islam is false. It's the wrong God. It's the wrong view of Christ.

King: When they hear that, don't they get anti-American thoughts...

MacArthur: It has nothing to do with America. I would say it if I were French.

King: They think yours is the wrong God.

MacArthur: Well, they do. But there has to be truth and untruth. Once you've established the truth, and I think the word of God has been established as true -- I think it can hold up under the most intense scrutiny -- and other books do not.

King: Don't you believe, Bishop Talbert, that Christianity is the right path?

Talbert: I do believe for Christians, but we're not here to settle which religion is right. That dispute belongs to God. We are here to practice what we preach.

King: Do you believe your religion is right?

Talbert: Yes I do.

King: Or else why believe it?

Talbert: That is right.

King: So therefore, the other religions have to be wrong.

Talbert: No, I don't say that at all.

King: If you believe your religion is right, the other religions are wrong.

Talbert: I believe my God is large enough to be inclusive of all human beings who were created in God's image, and that includes those religions that are not Christians.

MacArthur: I want to ask a question. Why did Jesus say -- why did Paul say -- if any man preaches any other Christ than the true Jesus Christ, let him be cured? Why does the Bible say neither is there salvation in any other name than Jesus Christ? Why doe the scripture condemn anyone who rejects Jesus Christ and the gospel of Christ? Why is the message so exclusive?

Talbert: For me, salvation in Jesus Christ is the way, and what I try to do as a Christian is to live that example. My responsibility is not to convert all other religions, but to live the Christian faith in the face of those religions. Are you going to say that my -- our friend on the show tonight who is Jewish is on the wrong path? That's God's choice. That's God's judgment, not mine.

King: Max, what is your view of Islam?

Lucado: Well, I guess it depends on if you're asking it from a political or religious point of view.

King: I guess from religious.

Lucado: Religious point of view -- it is a different approach to God than the Christian approach to God. My understanding as a Christian is that we're saved by what Christ did for us, whereas the Islamic faith says we're saved by what we do for God.

King: But do you think, Bishop Talbert, that these differing opinions are leading to lots of conflict in the world?

Talbert: I believe they're leading for a lot of conflicts because we do not open ourselves o each other and learn and grow. I have talked with Muslim leaders. They are -- the ones that I have met -- very fine people. They're on their way as certain as I am on my way. And what we need to do is to be tolerant with each other and not assume that our way is the only way.

Well, Mr. Talbert, what we really need is to be truthful with each other and with people of all nations and religions, sharing with them the love of God in Jesus Christ. We need to share the Gospel that Paul preached and no other. Jesus is not "Our Way". He is "The Way". It is not an assumption at all, but the very truth spoken by the Lord of all creation. John 3:18, "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." This is from the lips of Christ. You can't take Jesus and throw away his words..

Peace, David

The Biblical Jesus ~ It Depends on which Bible You Mean.

The Bible . . . Is it a book given to us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, written by men, infallible and inerrant or is it a book sort of inspired by God but written by men whose political and social agendas tainted its content?

Is it a book that God has allowed to become corrupted over time to include errors in translation, errors in the historical record, and filled with fictional stories made up by men? Is it a book that has no absolute truth but is completely pliable in the hands of anyone who reads it, able to be interpreted any way we choose? Can we pick out the parts we want to believe and set aside those we don't? Can we pick out the parts that make us happy and comfortable, using them as if they are accurate or relevant but scrap the parts the make us uncomfortable, claiming them to be inaccurate or irrelevant?

Does it matter really? I mean, so what if we come at this book from totally different positions. We all love Jesus, right? But what Jesus do we love? And was he really here? And did he really perform miracles? And did he really die on the cross? And did he really rise from the dead? If we claim in any form or fashion that the Biblical record is unreliable then we have absolutely no right or ability to make any statements about its truth or quote from it. If we can't believe it we certainly shouldn't base our lives on it. Unless of course, we see it as a book that has some good things to grab a hold of like "Chicken Soup for the Soul" then we can, I guess, just pick out the parts that make sense to our lives and leave the rest for the right wing Jesus freaks (Like me)

Here is the issue, at hand, and one that I believe is monumental to the Christian faith: The Gospel of Jesus Christ stands or falls on what we see the Bible to be. Many today claim that the Bible is not a document that has solid, unchangeable truth but is moldable and shapable to the reader. It can be interpreted as we see fit. I want to give a couple examples to make this more clear:
The Old Testament reveals a God who is the creator of all things including man. When man sinned God revealed not just his love for man but also his holy justice with regard to sin. It revealed a God who demonstrated some serious wrath against sin and sinful man. Now, those who claim that the Bible isn't to be taken literally, claim that this is just the story of an ancient people who fought other nations with their own political and religious motives. So then they can forgo any aspect of God that might seem intolerant, harsh, violent, or contrary to their religious beliefs. It was man's evil not God's wrath. One quick note regarding the description of Bible believers as "Literalists" (ie. they take the Bible literally). We can be smart enough to understand that when Jesus said, "I am the vine . . " or when Jesus was called, "the Lamb of God" that Jesus wasn't a vine or a lamb. But we can also see that when Jesus said, "The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations." He said, "In his name." What name? Jesus.

The New Testament reveals the story of a man named Jesus who was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles, died on a cross, and rose from the grave three days later. It claims Jesus to be God in the flesh who died for the sins of man. But Jesus was not always the gentle soft spoken peacemaker but made many claims about himself and about the judgment to come. But many today leave out all of the statements Jesus made about judgment, hell, and repentance. They leave out any statement that precludes salvation via any other person other than Jesus Christ. They do so by claiming that those who read the whole of scripture do so in a literal fashion while they themselves leave room for a much bigger God who can make the Bible all things to all men. Jesus can be their Lord and their Savior and their truth, way, and life but he is not for those of other faiths. Kind of like flag day. It is for us but not for Japan.

Can this be true? Can we both be right and does it matter? Can we ever preach from the Word and teach a church full of hearers from scriptures if we claim the Bible is not reliable and is only relevant or true to those who want them? Can we preach "I am the way and the truth and the life." as some sort of biblical feel good but claim that the next verse, "No one comes to the Father but through me." not to be true?

This is way more than can be addressed in a 10 minute blog post so we will be hanging here for a couple weeks. But, I want to share a couple things to start. First, if we believe Jesus lived and was divine (ie. God) then we should look at what he thought about the Old Testament and its reliability. Jesus quoted from twenty four of the Old Testament books and stated that he didn't come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it." Jesus spoke of Jonah's time in the belly of the fish, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot's wife who was turned to a pillar of salt, and he quoted many of the prophets. Did Jesus believe that the Old Testament was corrupted in its translation or the product of the minds of man? No! Paul believed that all scripture was "God breathed" and even if you claim he was talking about only the Old Testament then we can start there. Lastly, when the Dead Sea Scrolls were found they contained a near complete copy of the book of Isaiah dated to around one hundred years before the birth of Christ. These texts from Qumran proved to be word-for-word identical to our standard Hebrew Bible in more than 95 percent of the text. The 5 percent of variation consisted primarily of obvious slips of the pen and spelling alterations (Archer, 1974, p. 25).

The dilemma is this: If we claim the Biblical documents to be less than what Jesus and the Apostles believed them to be then we preach a Gospel that strips Jesus of his Lordship and of his Divinity. We make faith in Christ unnecessary for salvation and relegate Jesus to one of many religious leaders who taught us a better way to live. We can cut and paste the verses of the bible and use them as personal and social improvement tools and deny the truths we don't like.

Maybe God wasn't powerful enough to maintain the accuracy or truth of his Word and allowed it to be made virtually meaningless. Maybe the writings of Mohammad, Buddha, Krishna, Joseph Smith, Stephen King, and Mark Twain are all equally valid. Maybe Jesus didn't really exist and was just a fictitious character made up by these men, who for some crazy reason gave their lives to tell people about him. Maybe Paul didn't really meet Jesus on the road to Damascus and was later told what to preach. Maybe he just didn't like living high on the hog as a wealthy Jewish leader but instead wanted to see what it was like to be flogged, stoned, shipwrecked, beaten with fists, imprisoned, and beheaded for sharing the whole, uncompromising Gospel of Jesus Christ and him crucified. Maybe.

Although we can believe that how we see the Bible makes little difference as long as we all "love Jesus" it is not so. Either Jesus is the One and Only Son of God, God in the flesh, the name above all names, God with us, the name to which every knee will bow, the Judge of the living and the dead, the King of Kings, the one through whom all things were made, or he is not. If he is then we better get back to proclaiming him to all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit and not trusting that those without Christ can climb in another way. Jesus said he was THE way and not a way.

Stay tuned friends. Much more to come.

Peace, David