Deep Questions & Statements for the Initial, and the Not-So-Initial, Believer

Table of Contents:

• Table of Contents:
• First Off, Who Am I? Why Trust Me and What I Am About to Say?
• Deep Questions & Statements for the Initial, and the Not-So-Initial, Believer ⤵️
• Jesus Christ
• God’s Answers To Man’s Excuses
• God’s Answers To Man’s Questions
• The Promise of Heaven
• Who is Jesus?
• Why Trust the Bible?
• What is the Gospel?
• Deep Question About “Being Testing”:
• Evangelism Questions to Answer for Unbelievers:
• Thoughts from the Lord during 4-Day Fast with GCA (my local church in Austin, TX):
• Prayer to Meditate on During the 4-Day Fast with GCA (my local church in Austin, TX):

First Off, Who Am I? Why Trust Me and What I Am About to Say?

All you should know about me is that I was once lost and I am now saved because of the Death, Burial, Resurrection, Ascension, and Grace on display, of the Lord Jesus Christ dying for my sins, in order for me to be made right with God the Father.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.“ (John 14:6)

This is not a “contending for the faith”, rather this is a tool to help sharpen one’s faith and understand his/her depravity in order to understand his/her reliance and dependency upon the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Which you can say, innately, becomes the Truth. Whether people accept or deny the Truth, it is still the Truth. No amount of man-used words matters when the Day of Judgement abounds.

Are you in right standing with God?

Deep Questions & Statements for the Initial, and the Not-So-Initial, Believer ⤵️

Jesus Christ

Great Teacher or God Incarnate?

Many think that Jesus was a “great teacher”, but they don’t know what He taught!

Jesus Christ said that he was the Messiah the Jews had awaited for over 700 years.

John 4:25-26 The woman said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming,’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’ (See also Matthew 16:15-17)

He said that He existed from all eternity.

John 17:5 ‘And now Father, glorify Me with Yourself with the glory which I had with You before the world was.’

John 8:58 Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.’ Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him.

He said that He came down from heaven.

John 6:38 ‘For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent me.’

He taught that He was the only person in the world with a true knowledge of God.

Luke 10:22 ‘All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.’

He taught that He had the power to give men eternal life.

John 10:27-28 ‘My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish.’ Luke 23:43 And He said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.’ (See also John 4:13-14; 17:2)

He directed men to Himself as the answer for all their soul’s needs.

John 6:35 ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he believes in Me shall never thirst.’ John 8:12 ‘I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ John 11:25 ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies.’ (See also Matthew 11:28)

He claimed absolute devotion for Himself.

Matthew 10:37 ‘He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.’ (See also Luke 14:26)

He taught that He is the only way to God.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.’

He taught that He had the power to forgive sins.

Luke 5:20-21 He said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’ And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, ‘Who is this man who speaks blasphemies. Who can forgive sins, but God alone?’

But He also taught that He Himself was sinless and absolutely perfect.

John 8:29 ‘And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.’ John 14:9 ‘He who has seen Me has seen the Father.’

He said that He was God.

John 10:33 The Jews answered Him, ‘For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.’ John 5:18 For this cause therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

He accepted worship from other men.

Matthew 14:33 And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘You are certainly God’s Son!’ John 20:28 Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’

He taught that one day He will raise all the dead people in the world from their graves, just by speaking a word to them!

John 5:28-29 ‘An hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear My voice, and shall come forth, those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgement.’

He said that He would return at the end of the world to determine the eternal destinies of all men who have ever lived.

Matthew 25:31-32 ‘But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then he will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.’

All of this is from Charles Leiter of Lake Road Chapen (see www.lakeroadchapel.org for more!)

God’s Answers To Man’s Excuses

“I don’t need God.”

Job 34:14-15 If He should determine to do so, if He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.”

“I’m a good person.”

Luke 18:19 No one is good except God alone.

“I’ve always tried to live a good life.”

Romans 3:10-12 There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become useless; there is none who does good; there is not even one.

“I don’t see anything wrong with the way I’m living.”

Proverbs 30:12 There is a kind who is pure in his own eyes, yet is not washed from his filthiness.

“Everybody else is doing it.”

Exodus 23:2 You shall not follow a multitude in doing evil.

“I would have to give up too much if I became a Christian.”

Mark 8:36-37 What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

“There are too many hypocrites in the church.”

Romans 14:12 So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God.

“I tried calling on God, but He didn’t answer.”

Isaiah 59:1-2 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, so that He does not hear.

“I’ll repent later.”

Proverbs 29:1 A man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy.

“I’m just neutral about Jesus.”

Matthew 12:30 He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with me scatters.

“It doesn’t matter which religion you follow, as long as you are sincere.”

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

“Men wrote the Bible.”

2 Peter 1:21 No prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

“The Bible has lots of contradictions.”

Proverbs 14:6 A scoffer seeks wisdom, and finds none, but knowledge is easy to him who has understanding.

“Everybody will be saved in the end.”

Matthew 7:13-14 Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.

“The idea of Christ dying for my sins makes no sense to me.”

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

“I believe in God.”

James 2:19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

“I’ve been a Christian all my life.”

John 3:3; 6-7 Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, “You must be born again.”

“Christ is my Savior, but not my Lord.”

1 John 2:4 The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

“I have plenty of time to get right with God.”

Luke 12:20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you.’

“God could never forgive me for what I’ve done.”

Mark 3:28 Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter.

All of this is from Charles Leiter of Lake Road Chapen (see www.lakeroadchapel.org for more!)

God’s Answers To Man’s Questions

“Aren’t there many ways to God?”

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.’

“Did Jesus ever claim to be God?”

John 10:30, 33 Jesus answered them, ‘I and the Father are one.’ The Jews answered Him, ‘For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make yourself out to be God.’

“How do I know that Jesus is who He claims to be?”

John 7:16-17 Jesus therefore answered them, and said, ‘My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself.’

“Isn’t the Bible just a bunch of myths?”

2 Peter 1:16 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

“What about all the contradictions in the Bible?”

Proverbs 14:6 A scoffer seeks wisdom, and finds none, but knowledge is easy to him who has understanding.

“Why is there so much suffering in the world?”

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.

“What is the real purpose of life?”

Matthew 22:37-38 And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment.’

“Aren’t all men basically good?”

Romans 3:10-12 There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; .... there is none who does good, there is not even one.

“Won’t my good works outweigh my bad works?”

Isaiah 64:6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.

“Why did Christ die?”

1 Timothy 1:15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

“I don’t really love Christ. Isn’t it all right to be neutral?”

1 Corinthians 16:22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be accursed.

“What must I do to be saved?”

Acts 16:31 Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved.

“How do I know God will receive me?”

Isaiah 55:6-7 Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

“What is eternal life?”

John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

“How could I ever change?”

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature, the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

All of this is from Charles Leiter of Lake Road Chapen (see www.lakeroadchapel.org for more!)

The Promise of Heaven

What will heaven be like?

Heaven is a place more wonderful than we can everbegin to imagine. It is a place of joy and beauty, ofpeace and happiness that will never end. Why? Because heaven is also a place where therewill be no sin or suffering, no sorrow or pain. It's a place where there will be no quarrels or disagreements, no disappointments or weeping - because there will be nothing there to make us sad. And in heaven we will never do anything to displease God. We will then know perfect joy. Psalm 16:11 says,"In Thy presence is fullness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forever." Everything that now makes us groan will finally be done away with, and we will find ourselves in the very presence of God, where the purest and truest kind of joy is possible. In heaven we will also have perfect knowledge. The Bible says, "Then shall I know even as also I am known" (1 Cor. 13:12). We will have no more unanswered questions, no confusion, no ignorance, and nomore need to walk by faith rather than by sight. We will live in perfect comfort. We will love God perfectly and will be loved perfectly by Him. His love will engulf us forever.Stated simply, heaven is a place of perfect joyforever. Think of it! We will be perfectly free from evil forever. We will be set free from captivity to sin, and finally able to do that which is absolutely righteous, holy, and perfect before God. With sin and its effects erased forever, the promise of heaven is an everlast-ing life of unimaginable blessing!

How good do I have to be to go to heaven?

How good do I have to be to go to heaven? Most people understand that doing evil can keep usout of heaven, But few realize the Bible also teachesthat doing good cannot get us in. None of us could ever gain enough merit to deserve heaven. We are sinful, and God's standard is utter perfection. Jesus said, "Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). He added, "You are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (v. 48)

Who then can go to heaven? Who can be saved?

Who can be saved? Jesus' disciples asked Him this same question (Matthew 19:25). His answer? "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (v. 26). In other words, being saved so that we can go to heaven is not something we can accomplish. It is something God must do for us.

What if I stopped sinning now and never sinned again?

No matter how hard we try, we could never stop sinning because we are hopelessly in bondage to sin. The Bible tells us even our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). In other words, we are sinful to the core. Furthermore, even a single sin would be enough to destroy us forever; "Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all" (James 2:10). But even if we never sinned from now on, we would still be guilty of our past sins. And as the Bible says, The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).

But the good news is that God has provided away to free us from the guilt of sin!

What has God done for me to take away my sin so I can go to heaven?

When God forgives, He cannot merely overlook sin. Full payment (atonement) must be made for our sin. Christ's death made full atonement for those who trust Him. If we believe in Him, His dying counts in our stead, paying for our sins in full. The Bible says,"The blood of Jesus... cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). It is only through the blood of Christ that we can ever be cleansed from the terrible guilt of sin. But that only erases the guilt of our sin; we still need perfect righteousness in order to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20).

Where do we get that perfect righteousness?

If you truly believe in Him, the full merit of Jesus'own righteousness is credited (imputed) to you - to all those who trust Him alone for salvation.

The Bible teaches that God “justifies the ungodly” by reckoning (or crediting) Christ’s righteousness to them (Romans 4:5). Believers are clothed in His righteousness, and God accepts them solely and exclusively on that basis. That’s why the Apostle Paul was willing to discard all his own efforts to earn God’s favor, preferring instead to stand before God robed in a righteousness that was not his own (Philippians 3:8-9)

If you are not a Christian, you need to lay hold of this truth by faith: the sin that will keep you out of heaven has no cure but the blood of Christ. If you are weary of your sin and exhausted from the load of your guilt, He tenderly holds forth the offer of life and forgiveness and eternal rest to you: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28)

How can I be sure Christ will save me?

The Bible promises that no one who believes in Christ will be turned away: “Him that cometh to me I will in non wise cast out” (John 6:37). In the closing words of the Bible, Christ invites all to come to Him and receive the promise of heaven: “.... Let him that heareth... come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev 22:17b)

All of this is from John F. MacArthur, Crossway, and Good News Tracts (see crossway.org and www.goodnewstracts.org for more!)

Who is Jesus?

A Historical Person.

Maybe you have never really thought about who Jesus is, or whether his claims have any implications for your life. After all, we’re talking about a man who was born in the first century into an obscure Jewish carpenter’s family. The basic facts of his life—where and when he lived, how he died—are all pretty well agreed upon. But what about the significance of his life and death? Was he a prophet? A teacher? Was he the Son of God, or just an unusually gifted man? And for that matter, who did he think he was? For all the questions, though, everyone seems to agree on one thing: Jesus was an extraordinary person.

An Extraordinary Person.

Without a doubt, in his day there was something about Jesus that caught people’s attention. Over and over Jesus said things that left his contemporaries amazed at his wisdom, and even confronted them in ways that left them fumbling around for a way to make sense of it all. (Matthew 22:22).

“Many who heard him were astonished, saying, ‘What is the wisdom given to him?’ . . . and ‘How are such mighty works done by his hands?’” (Mark 6:2)

Then there were the miracles. Hundreds and hundreds of people saw with their own eyes Jesus do things that no human being should be able to do. He healed people from sickness; he made water instantly turn into fine-tasting wine; he told lame people to walk again, and they did; he stood on the prow of a boat and told the ocean to be quiet—and it did; he stood in front of the tomb of a man who had been dead for four days and called to him to come back to life—and the man heard him, stood up, and walked out of the tomb (Matthew 8:24–27; 9:6–7; John 2:1–11; 11:38–44).

With every one of his miracles and in every one of his sermons Jesus was making and backing up claims about himself that no human being had ever made before—claims that he was God.

God.

On a number of occasions Jesus took a name for himself exclusively used for God, the present tense “I am” (John 8:48–58), which brought to mind the ancient and famous name of Israel’s almighty God (Exodus 3:14).

Prophecies that Jesus claimed to fulfill also pointed to his deity. The people of Israel were looking forward to a king occupying the centuries-vacant throne. One prophet described this King as “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:6–7). The people of that day would have seen that this promised King didn’t sound like just another man who would sit on the throne for a time and then die. They would have heard their God promising that he himself would come and be their King.

Jesus also asserted his identity as, “the Son of God.” It wasn’t just a royal title; it was also a claim that Jesus was equal to God in status and character and honor. John explains: “This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because . . . he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God” (John 5:18).

One of Us.

Christians call the reality that God became human the incarnation. The Bible tells us that Jesus got hungry, he got thirsty, he got tired, and he even got sleepy. He did things with a deeply human tenderness, compassion, and love (Matthew 15:32; Mark 6:34, John 11:33–36). He not only was human; he showed us what God intended humanity to be all along.

Jesus was identifying with us, becoming one with us so that he could represent us in life and death. When Adam, the first man, sinned, he did so as the representative of all who would come after him (Genesis 3:1–15). “One trespass led to condemnation for all men” (Romans 5:18). Jesus would let God’s sentence of death—his righteous wrath against sinners—fall on him. So, Jesus allowed one of his own disciples to betray him to the Roman authorities who sentenced him to be crucified. In Jesus’s death on the cross, all the sin of God’s people was placed on him. Jesus died for them. He died in their place. There’s only one thing that would lead the Son of God to do this: he deeply loves us. “For God so loved the world,” one biblical writer said, “that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

But Jesus did not remain dead. When some disciples entered Jesus’s tomb two days later, “they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here’” (Mark 16:5–6).

Alive.

Through Jesus’s resurrection from the dead, something breathtakingly extraordinary happened. Everything he ever claimed for himself was vindicated. (1 Corinthians 15:14–19).

Only the resurrection had the power to turn his own followers—cowardly, skeptical men—into martyrs and eyewitnesses who were willing to stake everything on him for the sake of telling the world, “This man Jesus was crucified, but now he is alive!”

The resurrection is the hinge on which all Christianity turns. It’s the foundation on which everything else rests, the capstone that holds everything else about Christianity together.

Who Do You Say He Is?

Maybe you’re not ready to believe his claims. What is holding you back? Once you identify those things, don’t just walk away from them. Examine them. Pursue them. Find answers to your questions. Don’t put this off. This is the most important question you’ll ever consider!

Maybe you’re ready to say, “I really do think Jesus is the Son of God. I know I’m a sinner and a rebel against God. I know I deserve death for that rebellion, and I know Jesus can save me.” If so, then you simply turn away from sin and trust Jesus, and rely on him to save you. And then you tell the world! This is who Jesus is. He is the One who saves people just like me, and just like you!

All of this is from Crossway and Good News Tracts (see crossway.org and www.goodnewstracts.org for more!)

Why Trust the Bible?

Doing History.

Even more than other religions, Christianity presents itself as history. At its heart, Christianity claims that something extraordinary happened in the course of time—something concrete, real, and historical.

In the Bible, the New Testament declares that a man named Jesus was born to a virgin, claimed to be God, did miracles like walking on water and raising people from the dead, was crucified on a Roman cross, then rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to reign as King of the universe. Can we conclude confidently these things are true without simply presupposing the Bible is “the Word of God”?

One way to find out is to approach the New Testament as a collection of historical documents that speak for themselves. But are these documents truly reliable, historically speaking?

Answering that involves a series of questions.

Are Our Bible Translations Accurate?

Although translation from ancient languages is neither easy nor simple, scholars have been working at it for centuries. It really is possible for genuine, accurate, correct communication to occur through translation.

In the New Testament, there is only a small percentage of content that has proven difficult in translation. The best Bible translations acknowledge these places with a footnote.

Moreover, we can confidently say that not one major doctrine of orthodox Christianity rests on any disputed or uncertain passage. We know what the Bible says and what it means.

Were the Original Sources Accurately Copied?

As with other ancient books, the physical pieces of “paper” on which the original authors first wrote the New Testament have been lost to history. But we have thousands of other ancient writings (on papyrus, vellum, and parchment) with original-language text copied from each book of the Bible—about 5,400 distinct pieces when it comes to the New Testament, many going back to the first three centuries. They allow us to reconstruct with a huge degree of confidence what the originals said. (By comparison, for Julius Caesar’s Gallic Wars we have at most ten readable copies, the earliest of which dates nine hundred years after Caesar’s time.)

By comparing ancient copies of New Testament content with each other, we find a remarkably stable history of copy-making. For a few passages there’s genuine doubt about the original text, as reflected by a relatively large number of variations. The vast majority of these variations are minor, not affecting how we ultimately understand the Bible’s meaning.

Were These Original Truly the Best Sources?

But were these the right documents to be looking at in the first place? Were other “Gospels” out there telling a different but equally reliable story about Jesus?

Actually, the only Christian books dated confidently to the first century are the very ones that finally made up the New Testament—most of them already recognized by Christians as authoritative by first century’s end.

Not until about a hundred years later did books start showing up that departed significantly from New Testament teaching. Meanwhile, Christians had good, plausible, historically meaningful reasons for explaining why the books in our New Testament should be there while others shouldn’t. The earlier documents were recognized as reliable witnesses to Jesus’s life and teachings.

Were the Original Authors Trustworthy?

In their narratives, New Testament authors included verifiable details of real, historical facts. Close scrutiny makes clear that these authors weren’t writing fiction, or perpetrating some hoax, or under any delusion. They obviously believed that what they wrote really happened. Nor were their writings hopelessly confused, contradictory, or filled with errors. Especially in modern centuries, the Bible has been subjected to scorching and detailed assault by skeptics, but every single alleged contradiction, inconsistency, and error has been met with plausible resolutions after patient study.

Were the Original Authors Mistaken?

So the Bible is a reliable historical record of what these authors believe happened. But did those things really happen?

After all, the Bible is filled with miracle stories that invite our natural skepticism. These miracles appear essential to the Bible’s message, and their eyewitness accounts come across as far more plausible than miracles found in ancient myths and legends.

It’s here that one miracle in particular leaps out: the resurrection of Jesus. If biblical writers were genuinely mistaken about that, it’s unlikely they were right about much else. If Jesus is still dead, he’s assuredly not the “Christ” the Bible speaks of.

Here again, careful historical analysis reveals that what happened at Jesus’s tomb couldn’t have been his “near death,” nor some hoax or deception or mass hallucination involving his followers. Their confident insistence that they found his tomb empty and saw the risen Jesus— a belief embraced even at cost of their lives—is explained by only one possibility: Jesus was bodily, historically resurrected from the dead.

Reason to Believe.

Because of that resurrection, Christians believe what Jesus said. And since Jesus himself endorsed the entire Old Testament and authorized the entire New Testament, Christians believe these writings are reliable and true.

To Christians, Jesus’s resurrection means that anyone united to him by faith will be resurrected just as he was. They believe God fully accepted the sacrifice for sins Jesus offered on the cross as the more-than-sufficient payment for our moral debt. They believe Jesus now lives to guide his people on earth.

The Next Question.

In the end, deciding whether the Bible is reliable is just a means toward a more important question: Is Jesus reliable? If you’re not a Christian, let this discussion challenge you to consider: Who exactly is Jesus? Perhaps that question is best answered in something the apostle John said about his New Testament writings: “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).

All of this is from Crossway and Good News Tracts (see crossway.org and www.goodnewstracts.org for more!)

What is the Gospel?

So, what is the good news about Jesus Christ?

What exactly do Christians mean when they talk about the “gospel of Jesus Christ”? Since the word “gospel” means “good news,” when Christians talk about the gospel, they’re simply telling the good news about Jesus! But it’s not just any good news; it demands a response! It’s a message from God saying, “Good news! Here is how you can be saved from my judgment!” That’s an announcement you can’t afford to ignore.

So, what is the good news about Jesus Christ?

Since the earliest Christians announced the good news about Jesus, it has been organized around these questions....

1. Who made us, and to whom are we accountable?
1. We are accountable to God.
2. What is our problem?
1. Our problem is our sin against him.
3. What is God’s solution to our problem?
1. God’s solution is salvation through Jesus Christ.
4. How can I be included in his solution?
1. We come to be included in that salvation by faith and repentance.

God

The first thing to know about the good news of Jesus is that “in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Everything starts from that point, so if you get that point wrong then everything else that follows will be wrong. Because God created everything—including us—he has the right to tell us how to live. You have to understand that in order to understand the good news about Jesus.

How would you describe God’s character? Loving and good? Compassionate and forgiving? All true. God describes himself as “merciful and gracious, slowto anger, and abounding in love and faithfulness . . . forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” Then God adds, “but who will by no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:6–7). That explodes about 90 percent of what people today think they know about God. This loving God does not leave the guilty unpunished. To understand just how glorious and life-giving the gospel of Jesus Christ is, we have to understand that God is also holy and righteous. He is determined never to ignore or tolerate sin. Including ours!

Mankind

When God created the first human beings—Adam and Eve, he intended for them to live under his righteous rule in perfect joy—obeying him and living in fellowship with him. When Adam disobeyed God, and ate the one fruit that God had told him not to eat, that fellowship with God was broken. Moreover, Adam and Eve had declared rebellion against God. They were denying his authority over their lives.

It’s not just Adam and Eve who are guilty of sin.The Bible says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God . . . none is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:23,10). Yet, we often think of our sins as not much more than violations of some heavenly traffic law. So we wonder why God gets so upset about them. But sin is much more than that. It’s the rejection of God himself and his right to exercise authority over those to whom he gives life.

Once you understand sin in that light, you begin to understand why “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). That’s not just physical death, but spiritual death, a forceful separating of our sinful, rebellious selves from the presence of God forever. The Bible teaches that the final destiny for unbelieving sinners is eternal, active judgment in a place called “hell.”

This is the Bible’s sobering verdict: “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Every one of us will be held accountable to God. The Bible warns that “whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18).

But....

Jesus Christ

The word “Christ” means “anointed one,” referring to anointing a king with oil when he is crowned. So, when we say “Jesus Christ,” we’re saying that Jesus is a King!

When Jesus began his public ministry, he told the people, “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news!” Centuries before, God had promised that he would come as a great King to rescue his people from their sins. And here was Jesus saying, “The kingdom of God is here . . . now! I am that great King!”

Eventually Jesus’s followers realized that his mission was to bring sinful people into that kingdom. Jesus came to die in their place, to take the punishment they deserved for their rebellion against God. As Jesus died on a cross, the awful weight of all our sins fell on his shoulders. The sentence of death God had pronounced against rebellious sinners struck. And Jesus died. For you and me!

But the story doesn’t end there. Jesus the Crucified is no longer dead. The Bible tells us that he rose from the grave. He is not just King Jesus the Crucified, but King Jesus the Crucified and Resurrected! Jesus’s rising from the grave was God’s way of saying, “What Jesus claimed about who he is and what he came to do is true!”

Our Response

What does God expect us to do with the information that Jesus died in our place so we can be saved from God’s righteous wrath against our sins? He expects us to respond with repentance and faith.

To repent of our sins means to turn away from our rebellion against God. Repentance doesn’t mean we’ll bring an immediate end to our sinning. It does mean, though, that we’ll never again live at peace with our sins.

Not only that, but we also turn to God in faith. Faith is reliance. It’s a promise-founded trust in the risen Jesus to save you from your sins. “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned . . . He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree . . . the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (John 3:17–18; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18).

If God is ever to count us righteous, he’ll have to do it on the basis of someone else’s record, someone who’s qualified to stand in as our substitute. And that’s what happens when a person is saved by Jesus: All our sins are credited to Jesus who took the punishment for them, and the perfect righteousness of Jesus is then credited to us when we place our trust in what he has done for us! That’s what faith means—to rely on Jesus, to trust in him alone to stand in our place and win a righteous verdict from God!

Do you believe that you have rebelled against God and deserve his wrath? That Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died the death that you deserve for your sins? That he rose from the grave and lives to stand in your place as your Substitute and Savior? If that is your heartfelt conviction, you can tell him in words like these . . .

Jesus, I know I can’t save myself, and I know you have promised to save those who repent and put their faith in you alone. I trust you to forgive my sins and give me eternal life. Thank you for dying in my place to make my salvation possible!

If you’ve done that, then a whole life of getting to know Jesus lies ahead, beginning right now! There’s much more to learn from the Spirit of God who comes to live in all those who put their trust in King Jesus!

All of this is from Crossway and Good News Tracts (see crossway.org and www.goodnewstracts.org for more!)

Deep Question About “Being Testing”:

Evangelism Questions to Answer for Unbelievers:

Q: Adam and Eve - Are we incest beings if we all stem from Adam and Eve, since they are the ones who we were born from?

• A: No.

Was the world populated through incest or did God create others besides Adam and Eve?

While some understand the reference to Adam in Genesis to be a general reference to mankind as a whole or the creation of more than one couple, most conservative scholars reject such a view and understand the Genesis account to refer to the creation of a literal Adam and Eve as a single couple.

bible.org

Q: We’re made in the image of God, yet some people are born with defects. How does a believer respond to that?

Q: Pro choice argument - if a mother kills a baby because she doesn’t want it to be born, it has sin in its heart, and into a world of suffering, is that bad. Isn’t that helping God? (Christian)

• No.
• From my brother in Christ, Chris, over at Grace Church Austin:
• For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works and that my soul knows well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed, and in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them" (Psalm 139:13-16)
• The reality of God being active in the formation of a baby in the womb
• "When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit…[saying] ‘As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy'" (Luke 1:41, 44)
• John was obviously a viable human as he was able to leap for joy in his mothers womb
• "If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise" (Exodus 21:22-25)
• God considers babies in the womb to be human due to the fact that if you even accidentally kill one your life must be given
• Deut 24:16 “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.
• We don’t kill babies because their fathers sinned by conceiving them through rape.
• Should a Child Who Might Be Born Deformed or Disabled Be Aborted?
• "So the LORD said to him, 'Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD?'" (Exodus 4:11, NKJV).
• "Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?' Does your work say, 'He has no hands?' Woe to him who says to his father, 'What have you begotten?' or to his mother, 'What have you brought to birth?' This is what the LORD says—the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question Me about My children, or give Me orders about the work of My hands?" (Isaiah 45:9-11, NIV).
• From my brother in Christ, Kenzy, over at Grace Church Austin:
• I have nothing more to add, maybe except Ezekiel 18, the son should not pay for the sins of the father, with regard to abortion.

Q: If Jesus is our Savior, why can’t I just do bad and still enter heaven? Doesn’t Jesus allow us to be accepted into Heaven to the Father because of His Work on earth even though there is still evil in our heart?

• Read the Book of James.

Q: If Jesus is God in human form and knew all his steps before he took them, why didn’t he just do it? Of course he lived a sinless life - he was 100% and 100% man…. What should one say to that?

• He had to accomplish the Father’s Will.

Thoughts from the Lord during 4-Day Fast with GCA (my local church in Austin, TX):

• Many people, when I asked, “What’s your greatest learning this year?”, responded with things pertaining to patience, persistence, perseverance, and suffering well.
• Suffering is not meant to be done alone though. It’s meant to be done well, with others, and never alone even if one is alone because it’s for the Glory of God to His Kingdom in Heaven and here on earth in His Will, in His Timing, and for His Son Jesus.
• Ecc 1:18 - with knowledge comes sorrow too. One’s walk requires one to get revealed more by the Father. Such is beautiful
• Eph 4:9-16 - grow mature in the Lord; the final step as explained in 2 Peter 1 5-9, but here in Eph 4:9-16
• All of Eph 4 at this point man. It made me cry on the plane. All of it hit
• Psalms 32:8…. I trust you Lord
• Crying out to the Lord twice now during this fast (alternative that is - one snack on Fri afternoon and one meal on Friday night)
• First is noted above. Reading Eph 4:9-16 on the plane and crying
• Second was at home, and this is right after Job graciously gave me $100 via Cashapp, I cried. It just came out of me. The Lord immediately told me to stand up and look at Him…. As though a father would. He said, “Do you trust in Me?” I said, “Yes, but this is not about that…”. And before I could finish, he knowing my heart said, “Do you trust in Me?” I said Yes. I understood the lesson of…. Not only that God knows my heart and has it in His Hands like an eagles bird’s nest for its babies but that this suffering and these problems are all helping my faith. Exactly as it says in James 1:1-3!! Endurance for the faith so that eventually I need nothing. It’s like John 3:30 in full action. Wow!!! Realizing this last part in real-time as I type! But truthfully, even my declaration to Nick (and in telling him on a Saturday! Oh how great God’s Timing is!) and what I will tell him with my no longer working Friday evening through Sunday evening because I want to keep the Sabbath day holy and Sunday is for worship, church, and fellowship!
• Wow the Lord is so good. He is causing all this to happen, which relates to my life and relationship with Him, to make me draw closer to Him in abandoning work that is done on the Sabbath, to give more to the church, to expose myself and my sinfulness, to abandon flesh and make my life Christ’s life. Glory be to God!

Prayer to Meditate on During the 4-Day Fast with GCA (my local church in Austin, TX):

Opening (Wed, 1/15/21):

Good morning brothers and sisters,

Our church is in a very good place. We are seeing our weakness in profound ways.

1) many of us are sick: weakness of the body

2) financially we are struggling: weakness of resources

3) unsure building wise: weakness in location

4) our numbers are small: weakness in size

5) my preaching: I feel the weakness of my limitations in a major way going through this book.

The list can continue for pages but this is enough to make the point. We are weak and in our weakness, He shows His strength!

Therefore I’m calling for a fast for the next three days. Thurs., Fri. & Sat. until we come back together to worship the Lord on Sunday"?

You can fast all meals or one a day. However the Lord leads you and as you’re medically able then join us.

When you would be eating, cry out to the Lord on it behalf and let’s see what the Lord will do.

Ezra 8:21-23

[21] Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. [22] For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.” [23] So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty.

“Notice how they were ashamed.

Not of their God or His ways, but of asking the world for help.

Oh to have that kind of shame!!

They trusted their Lord to be all that they needed and to provide all that they lacked. May we do the same brethren!” (Tawfiq)

Grace and Peace brethren,

As you choose when to eat and not to eat for the sake of the Lord showing Himself mighty in the midst of our great weakness, meditate upon these verses:

Esther 4:12-17

12And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. 13Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 15Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16“Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”c 17Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him.

Notice how her current comfort did not protect Esther from the coming suffering promised to all her people.

Notice how the instruction was to join her people in prayer and fasting and not until the final morsel was denied. Not until the last prayer was offered up, did she say that she would go, come what may.

Surely Esther understood the only hope and help she had was going to come through the Lord God Omnipotent using the prayers and fasting of the people.

This was for her very life and lives off every Jew.

Brothers and sisters may we trust the Lord like them!

May we all see the need for unity like them!

May we all be ready for whatever the Lord decides with perfect peace like them.

On our final day of prayer and fasting, meditate upon the way the Lord makes a distinction between fasting He hated and the fasting that He loves.

Both involved eating No food.

What separated them from one another?

Isaiah 58 whole chapter. Verses 1-14

True and False Fasting

[1] “Cry aloud; do not hold back;

lift up your voice like a trumpet;

declare to my people their transgression,

to the house of Jacob their sins.

[2] Yet they seek me daily

and delight to know my ways,

as if they were a nation that did righteousness

and did not forsake the judgment of their God;

they ask of me righteous judgments;

they delight to draw near to God.

[3] ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?

Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’

Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,

and oppress all your workers.

[4] Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight

and to hit with a wicked fist.

Fasting like yours this day

will not make your voice to be heard on high.

[5] Is such the fast that I choose,

a day for a person to humble himself?

Is it to bow down his head like a reed,

and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?

Will you call this a fast,

and a day acceptable to the LORD?

[6] “Is not this the fast that I choose:

to loose the bonds of wickedness,

to undo the straps of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

and to break every yoke?

[7] Is it not to share your bread with the hungry

and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover him,

and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

[8] Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,

and your healing shall spring up speedily;

your righteousness shall go before you;

the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

[9] Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;

you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’

If you take away the yoke from your midst,

the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

[10] if you pour yourself out for the hungry

and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

then shall your light rise in the darkness

and your gloom be as the noonday.

[11] And the LORD will guide you continually

and satisfy your desire in scorched places

and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a watered garden,

like a spring of water,

whose waters do not fail.

[12] And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;

you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;

you shall be called the repairer of the breach,

the restorer of streets to dwell in.

[13] “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,

from doing your pleasure on my holy day,

and call the Sabbath a delight

and the holy day of the LORD honorable;

if you honor it, not going your own ways,

or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;

[14] then you shall take delight in the LORD,

and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;

I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,

for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Which one is more like your fasting?

May the Lord help us and answer our prayers!

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