Sunday, September 30, 2007

what if they don't believe the Bible is real?

Consider a hunter, lost in the woods, who encounters an angry grizzly bear. Should he cast away his rifle because the bear believes it to be a funny looking stick? Absolutely NOT! Regardless of what the bear believes, the rifle has incredible power. So tell people what the Bible says even if they don't believe it's of God. The gospel, a two edged sword which cuts to the innermost soul, is the power of God which brings salvation to everyone who believes.

Romans 1:16-17 - I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

why do I believe the Bible is from God?

It’s a reliable collection of historical documents written down by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. The authors report supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of specific prophecies and claim that their writing was divine rather than human in origin. - Dr. Voddie Baucham

2 Peter 1: 16-21 - We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.  For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Luke 1:1-4 - Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.  Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

1 Corinthians 15:2-6, 14-20a - By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead

Ambassador

I am an ambassador for a very important person; a King. My job is to speak on behalf of the King, acting as His representative to others. I mostly try to reach those who are at war with the King. Using peaceful peaceful negotiations, my goal is reconciliation.

See, everyone has rebelled from the King by going their own selfish way. The Good News is that the King does not desire conflict but peace, not judgment but forgiveness. He is offering a full pardon to anyone who will take it.

My responsibility is to tell you about this free gift and how to accept it. The way to recieve it is to simply put your faith in His Son who bore the punishment you deserved. When you do this the King turns you into a new person. It's up to you to either accept or reject this offer. Those that recieve it won't be judged but those who reject it have been judged already.

The next step is yours.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.  God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

John 3:16-20 - For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 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 the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.